Lament of a Firefly
by Moonlit Innocence
Summary: In a cruel business world, Kanda is the president of one of the top two car companies, 'First Illusion'. He strives hard every day to beat his competition, Lavi, over at 'Akuma,' but in a strange turn of events, the two men are forced to work together, or face being shut down. Soon enough, they find there's something more sinister than taxes lurking in the shadows around them...
1. Chapter 1: The Party

Faces.

A sea of faces.

So many, he didn't even bother trying to remember the names. They all were the same to him.

Although the faces belonged to people he needed to know, he couldn't bring himself to care. What was the point of caring? It wouldn't get him what he wanted. It wouldn't help him survive this business full of blood-sucking leeches waiting to pounce the moment you seem weak.

No, it wouldn't.

He wandered aimlessly, a drink held loosely in his hand. The faces smiled at him and inquired politely about his well-being.

But he knew.

He knew what they were really thinking. He knew they thought that he was an annoyance. Undeserving of his status. Childish.

Incompetent.

That last one pissed him off the most.

How dare they assume he was unable to do his job just because he didn't work to get where he was. Just because his parents were killed and he was forced to take over the company.

Assholes.

It didn't take three minutes after the funeral until a microphone was shoved into his face. The media wanted to know what the great Kanda Yuu was planning to do with his life.

"_Are going to continue your studies at Harvard? Are you going to take over your parents' company? Or do you consider yourself lesser than your parents and not good enough to take on the job?"_

He himself was wondering what was going to happen. He didn't know what he wanted to do when he first heard of the fatal car accident. His deciding moment was when the reporter asked him that last question. Those words had filled his empty being with so much anger, he barely refrained from punching that jerk in the face.

A broken nose wouldn't hurt anyone. Except that son of a bitch.

Anyways, after that everything smoothed out. Kanda wasn't the type to get all emotional over a loss; he had never shed a tear in his life, even when he was a baby. When the media found that they wouldn't get a huge breakdown or outburst or something, they backed off, empty-handed.

At the company, however, things were chaotic.

_First Illusion _had been shut down the day of the funeral so that the employees could attend. They all had loved their bosses very much and mourned the loss as if one of their own family had passed.

Actually, they were supposed to be working that day, but so many threatened to quit if they didn't have the day off that Kanda grew desperate. The whole business falling apart the week after his parents died would not have been what they wanted.

And he refused to give those that thought he would fail the satisfaction of him doing just that.

Of course, there was a downfall to shutting down one of the two major car manufacturing companies in the world, even if for a single day. That was the other of the two major companies, _Akuma. _

On that fateful day, the 'man in charge' at _Akuma _decided to release their latest model of sports car, the _MZR 3_. It was a sleek black vehicle that just screamed _I'm rich. _Naturally, only the rich could afford it. That didn't matter, though. What really mattered was the fact that it had the best gas mileage of any sports car in the industry. It also reached speeds that NACAR drivers could only dream of.

And Kanda had missed out on it.

Just thinking about it made him sick. His fist clenched around the glass in his hand.

He had been beaten by that smart-ass. And that smart-ass was just as young as him. It was a deep blow to his pride and Kanda despised the feeling very much. He didn't like the fact that his greatest competitor was a lot more qualified for the job than he was.

"President Kanda! President Kanda! Wait up!" He didn't even bother to see who it was. He knew that voice.

A few seconds later, a white-haired youth appeared in front of him, gasping for breath. He stared him down with eyes slit, a snarl marring his beautiful face. The other man just smiled up at him as he took in great huffs of air.

"Guess who just… showed up?" He panted. Kanda's glare didn't falter.

"What the hell are you talking about, Allen? Who's here?" Allen quirked up an eyebrow.

"You don't remember who you told me to look out for?" He suddenly straightened up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "_Allen!" _He barked, lowering his voice in a horrible imitation of Kanda. The long-haired man narrowed his eyes even further._ "If that fucking idiotic ass decides to show his ugly face at my party, you better tell me immediately or I will fucking castrate you!" _ Allen smirked and his voice returned to normal. "By the way, that's sexual harassment. Do you really want to have your own Vice President turn you in? And I don't appreciate the threat. I happen to very much like my-" He was cut off by a hand shoved against his mouth.

"I'm going to stop you right there. I seriously don't need to hear this." Allen pushed his hand away and looked at Kanda, confused.

"Aren't you going to do something about him? I thought you hated that guy."

"Trust me; I do. But there is nothing I can do about it now."

"Yes there is! You could call security and have them escort him out! Or better yet, have Tim scare him off! Actually, you should punch that self-absorbed smile right off his stupid-" Once again, Kanda cut him off, this time with a shove that knocked him off his feet.

"As tempting as that sounds, it's called taking the higher road _baka._" He searched the room with his eyes, ignoring a couple disbelieving stares. "Speaking of Tim, where is he?"

"I sent him off to welcome 'he-who-shall-not-be-named'. He should be back in a few minutes." Replied Allen as he stood up, brushing invisible dust off of his suit. "Never mind, here he comes now."

Kanda turned toward the direction his Vice President was gesturing and saw what he was talking about. The crowd of conversing people was slowly opening up like the Red Sea. Everyone turned to get a look at who was coming through, curious to see if the rumors were true about the famous Tim Canpy. A couple gasps resounded throughout the room as they saw for themselves just how true gossip could be.

Tim strode through the opening in the mass of people with a grin gracing his features, dressed fashionably as always with a dark suit and gold tie. Obviously, his clothing preference wasn't what everyone was gaping at. Though the tie was a nice touch, Kanda thought with a chuckle.

Why the tie was a nice touch was because of Tim's face.

At first glance, he seemed like a pretty normal guy. Young, tall, and handsome with golden blonde hair. But, if you actually look at him (and trust me, you _will _do a double take) you'll see some extremely strange things that shouldn't be there. Like his eyes; one as blue as the sky, the other a breathtaking mixture of gold and yellow that swirled around his pupil like a hurricane. Although it was unusual and rather disturbing, that wasn't what everyone was gawking at.

What they were staring at was his smile. A smile that would look attractive on any other man, but just looked menacing on him. It was because of his teeth. Pearly white, though they were, each tooth ended in a sharp point. These tooth daggers made any upturn of his lips look like he had murderous intent.

Who knows; he probably did.

To anyone other than Tim, the teeth might be a curse. One would be unable to be around others without them gaping or turning away in disgust. But he loved them. He loved being different. He loved the fact that no one could get close to him. Other than Allen, of course. The two of them seemed to have an inseparable bond. Probably because Allen and Tim had both been tutored under the legendary drunkard, Cross Marian. If anything people said about him was true, then he wasn't surprised that the two of them had become so close.

They would've needed each other just to _survive._

"Hey, Tim! Did you complete your mission?" Allen called out with a goofy grin. Tim just smirked and nodded.

Another thing Kanda liked about Tim was the fact that the man couldn't speak. Well, he _could _but apparently it hurt because of his teeth, so he refrained from talking. The one time Kanda had heard him speak was to tell _Akuma_'s president to, 'Go fuck himself' after an unsatisfactory meeting between the rivals.

He had quite the frightening voice.

All of these reasons are why Kanda decided to take him on as his personal assistant. Also, his antisocial attitude liked the fact that no one would want to come bother him with Tim around. It was a perfect give-take relationship. Kanda got peace while Tim got a paycheck.

They understood each other very well.

Tim sauntered up to Allen and Kanda, raising an arm to lean against Allen's shoulder. Allen turned his head to look at him with a contemplative expression.

"So, where exactly is Mr. Pres?" Tim Canpy shrugged before yawning, a truly terrifying sight. His sharp teeth glinted in the light. Allen just rolled his eyes, unfazed. "You better not be falling asleep on the job again, Timmy boy. I don't want to have to pick up your slack." Now it was Tim's turn to roll his eyes.

"You didn't answer the question, Canpy." Kanda growled. Tim regarded him with an almost lazy expression. "Where the hell is he? I need to know so I can go to a place as far away from him as possible. I'm not in the mood to talk to that bastard."

"Kanda, you're never in the mood to talk to anyone." Allen sighed. "Now, Tim. Seriously, where is he? We don't want poor little Kanda to throw a fit." Tim laughed a closed mouth laugh. Then he raised his hand and pointed toward a small lounge room connected through an open doorway.

"Perfect." The dark-haired man murmured as he stalked off in the opposite direction. He felt a hand grab his wrist before he could completely blend into the crowd.

"And you're going where, exactly?" Kanda glared at him.

"Away." He snarled, trying to break free. Tim grabbed his other arm and helped hold him in place.

"What happened to taking the higher road, Kanda?" Allen hissed in his ear. "No matter what you say, he is _your _guest considering that this is _your _party. Now stop being such a prick and just greet him!" Kanda glowered at the white-haired young man.

"Have I ever told you that your hair looks stupid?"

"Multiple times." Kanda huffed.

"You're lucky I haven't fired you yet."

"Please. You couldn't even if you tried. Five year lease, remember?"

"Five-year lease my ass. I'll rip up that contract until there's nothing left but dust."

"And I'll call my lawyer to have another one printed out, right away." Allen smiled innocently. "Now go." He gave Kanda a shove. Tim stepped out of the way just in time. The man had better things to do than become a pancake.

Kanda quickly straightened himself out and turned to shoot one last glare at a waving Allen.

"Don't forget to smile!" He cried happily. Tim slinked up next to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Together they watched Kanda disappear into the next room. Right when they couldn't see him anymore, Allen seized Tim's arm and hurriedly dragged him away. Tim let out a small grunt of protest. Allen glanced back at him and explained.

"Sorry about that, Timmy. I want to get away from there as fast as possible. I have a feeling the whole place is going to blow when those two start arguing." Tim nodded in agreement and the both of them bolted into the kitchen.

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Kanda looked around the room with distaste.

Just how many people were here anyways? It seemed that the room was full to bursting with tightly packed bodies. And they were all trying to look at something in the middle of the filled space.

With a sigh, he set his glass down on a random table and began the trek to get to the source of everyone's attention.

It took a lot of shoving, squeezing, and the occasional threat, but he managed to make it to the edge of a circular opening, alive. He pushed past a woman clad in a revealing black dress and finally entered the center where the hub of everyone's attention sat.

"… so I told him to take the damn things and shove them up his ass!" A loud voice cried out. The whole room was silent for a split-second before erupting in a roar of laughter. Everyone in ear-shot shouted their approval while still guffawing, some clutching their stomachs, others shedding tears of joy. All the people were having a good time.

Now that wouldn't do.

Kanda strode over to the man laughing on the couch with a face that was less than pleased. He stopped in front of the source of all of his problems and glared pure hatred at him.

"Bookman." He growled, getting the attention of the redhead sitting on the sofa. He watched, fuming, as the idiot looked at him with a surprised exclamation.

"Hey, Yuu-chan!"

Rather than say hello back, he welcomed his competitor with a friendly punch to the face.

As his fist connected with its mark, the room became quiet again. An almost sick satisfaction crept up in his chest when the other turned back to him, rubbing his left cheek. Everyone else rushed to get out of the room; the killing aura Kanda was giving off terrified them. When they were gone (it didn't take very long), Lavi removed his hand from his cheek and grinned.

"Good evening, Yuu. Fancy seeing you here." Kanda's eye twitched. Not only was his voice incredibly annoying, he didn't like the fact that the idiot called him by his first name.

"What the fuck do you mean? This is my party and, as far as I can remember, _you _weren't on the invitations list."

"Ah, but you see, I _was_ invited." Kanda glowered. "Okay, okay! I invited myself! But I mean, what's the big deal? Isn't this a gathering for associates and stuff?" He questioned, head cocked.

"As usual, you can't take anything seriously. I don't understand how you got where you are." This earned him an award-winning smile.

"Strategizing, patience, ingenuity, brilliance, diligence… let's see. Am I forgetting anything?"

"Get out."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Get out."

"Awww, Yuu! Don't be such a spoil sport!"

"Get the _fuck out. _You have ten seconds before I call Allen in here."

"So? What is that bean sprout going to do to me?" He giggled.

"Not the beansprout. It's who is _with _the beansprout that might cause a few problems for you." Lavi's face paled.

"You don't mean-!" Kanda nodded. "Shit! Okay, I'm going! But, don't think this is over. I'll be seeing you sooner than you think." He stated cryptically.

"Tch." Kanda crossed his arms and looked the other way as Lavi strode past him.

"Oh, by the way," He turned towards the redhead and was unprepared for the self-satisfied expression gracing his features. "_Akuma _is already working on our next model. This one will be better and more efficient than even the _MZR 3. _You better put it into overdrive, Yuu-chan. This isn't the business to be slacking off in. You do and you're good as dead." He winked- or blinked, Kanda couldn't tell with the eye patch- and left the other to imagine every possible way of killing a person. Specifically Lavi.

He stormed out of the room; all the smartly dressed people made way for him. Just the look on his face alerted everyone that Kanda was in one of his famous bad moods. They hastily got out of the path of destruction as he made his way to the kitchen.

He needed a drink.

A strong one.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as he entered the kitchen, only to run into something. He opened his eyes and saw Lavi of all people. He was about to yell at the redhead to get out when he saw what he was staring in horror at.

Allen was cutting the tops off strawberries and adding them to a pile on the counter. Tim Canpy was sitting next to him, munching on some of the fruit and looking at Bookman with an eerie smile on his face. As Kanda watched, he stood up and circled his arm around Allen's waist protectively, then opened his mouth even further so that his sharp red-stained teeth were clearly visible. Allen sighed and shook his head, continuing to cut the berries even when Tim rested his chin on his shoulder.

"Manners, Tim." Tim tilted his head slightly to the left, ignoring Allen. Lavi looked like he was about to throw up.

Scratch that; he needed _two_ drinks.

"Canpy! Control yourself!" Tim immediately closed his mouth and released Allen, choosing instead to plop down on the floor next to his friend. He peeped from around his legs at Lavi and Kanda, curiosity written on his face. The long-haired man grabbed Lavi by the back of his coat and dragged him away from the kitchen.

"I thought I told you to get the fuck out of here."

"W-what the hell is _wrong _with that guy. Doesn't he know how scary he is?" Kanda chuckled darkly.

"He knows exactly what effect he has on people and uses it to his advantage. Why do you think I hired him?" He threw open the front door to the apartment and shoved Lavi through it. "There you go you stupid rabbit. Now get out of my sight." He was about to close the door when a foot stopped it at the last second.

"Wait, Yuu! I have a question to ask you. A serious one this time, I promise." Kanda sighed exasperatedly and reopened the door.

"What?"

"Can I have a goodnight ki-"

"No." _Slam!_

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**Heeeeeellllllloooooo girlies and boylies(?)**

**This concludes the first chapter of **_**BAWB! **_**(If any of you are wondering what that stands for, it will be revealed in a few chapters or something like that)**

**Anyways, review, leave a comment, all that good stuff. I would really appreciate you guys telling me if I have any mistakes or if you have any criticisms, yada yada yada…**

**So… yeah. I dunno what else to say. I think that's it. o_O**

**PS: I promise next chapie will be a tad longer than this, we'll see how it plays out**


	2. Chapter 2: The Challenge

**First, let me apologize! I'm really sorry! I meant to get this out a lot earlier than today, but better late than never I guess. And hey, summer is almost here I can smell it. Summer= faster updates. Hehehehehe…**

**I would also like to give a shout-out to **_**Hanashi o suru, Mettlei, LOVEROFYUKANDAANDLAVIFOREVER, and HerShadow! **_**Your reviews made me want to update this story ASAP! (But I guess that didn't really happen XD) Thank you so much!**

**IMPORTANT(ish) STUFF RIGHT HERE PLEASE READ!**

**this story is set in the year of 2027 which is 15 years from now (im a math genius!) this will help for some stuff mentioned down below**

**I have decided to put in little blurbs that describe stuff that might be confusing to people who don't live in my brain. They are called FYI STATEMENTS. I couldn't think of anything else :P so if you have any suggestions… (if you don't get what im saying right now, read the chappie and then come back: it will make more sense, I promise)**

**And now, on with the story!**

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After a quick good-bye, Kanda closed the door on his last few guests. He sighed in relief and turned around, sliding down the wall. He landed on the ground with a soft thud and buried his face in his hands.

He was finally alone.

"Kanda! Where does this bowl go?" He groaned. That's right; the _moyashi_ and Tim were still there. He opened his eyes to find Allen standing in front of him holding a large silver container. Tim lurked just behind him, peering at Kanda over the silver-haired man's shoulder.

"It goes in the cabinet to the right of the one above the sink." He said, rubbing his temples to try to relieve the headache growing there. "I'm guessing you're going to help clean up."

"Obviously. I mean, I _am _your VP. Isn't my job supposed to be helping you out?" Allen said as he walked back into the kitchen. Tim remained in the room with Kanda and sat down in front of him. He placed his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand and just watched the other man. Kanda crossed his arms, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

"What the hell do you want?" Tim smiled and shrugged. All weariness faded as Kanda growled and stood up. "Well, don't sit there like a sack of fucking potatoes. Go help Allen. I'll clean up in here." Tim rose to Kanda's level and mock saluted before darting into the kitchen.

"Tch." He muttered, walking over to the table covered in glasses. As he busied himself with collecting the glasses and putting them on a tray, his ears tuned in on the two idiots in the kitchen. Apparently, their conversation (one-sided conversation, mind you) was very top secret because Allen was trying, and failing, to whisper.

"I told you it would work." A slapping noise followed that must have been a high five. "Your ability to scare the shit out of people is really helpful; even with Bakanda. Now we don't have to do all the work by ourselves!" Allen and Tim broke out into girlish giggles.

"I heard that." He called out as he placed a half empty glass on the tray. A loud crash came from the kitchen as if something had been dropped. He winced and desperately hoped they hadn't broken the porcelain bowl his mother had given him as a house-warming gift. It was his favorite.

"I don't think he heard everything. He's too stupid for that." Allen's voice was lower but not low enough. Kanda sighed and picked up the last glass, placing it on the tray before picking that up too. He carried it into the kitchen where he found Allen and Tim crouched under the sink, watching him apprehensively.

"I heard that, too. I'm not deaf, you idiots. I'm also _not _stupid." He glared at them as he brought the tray to the counter and set it down. "Now wash these dishes. I'll go see if any of the other rooms need cleaning." He turned on his heel and strode out, head held high. Allen scoffed.

"Since when is he so touchy?" He asked Tim who shrugged in response.

"You should really just stop talking." Kanda said. Allen flinched and jumped up, grabbing the nearest dish and beginning to scrub hard. Tim laughed his closed-mouth laugh and stood to help him.

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It took a little longer than expected, but they managed to get the place looking brand new. Kanda picked up all of the drinking glasses and cleaned the rooms. Tim dried the dishes. Allen washed them. Well, that was until he decided to finish the alcohol in every single lightly filled cup. As you can imagine, he became unfathomably drunk and was leaning on Tim by the end of the night.

"Is he going to be all right?" Kanda asked, glancing at Allen out of the corner of his eye. He was currently lying sprawled out on the couch, holding a pillow close to his heart and murmuring things to it. Then, he cried out and clutched it closer to his chest. "I never knew he was such a horrible drunk. You've got your hands full, Canpy." Tim rolled his eyes and nodded.

"I hope he realizes we have a huge meeting tomorrow about the next topic for the VAP Challenge. The theme for the upcoming years is going to be released at 9'oclock sharp, so you better get the _moyashi _there by 8. Got it?" Tim stood up straighter and nodded again. He stalked over to where Allen was petting the pillow affectionately. He yanked it out of Allen's grasp and put it on the nearby chair.

"No! Don't take Steve away from me!" He cried indignantly. Actually, it sounded a lot more like, "Naoh! Doon'te tafe Steef ewah froom meh!"

Tim ignored his plea and bent over, wrapping Allen's arm around his shoulder. He stood up carefully with the other's weight pressed against him. He snaked his arm around Allen's waist to better support him.

Kanda looked on, amused, as Tim half led half dragged Allen to the door. Kanda opened it and gestured for him to go through.

"Good luck with that one." He said. Tim chuckled as he hauled the floundering mess that was Allen Walker out of the apartment. He closed the door after them.

"Finally some peace and quiet." Kanda sighed. He felt weariness seeping into his bones so he trudged up the stairs to his bedroom.

Yes, he had a two-story apartment. Big whoop.

When he reached his room, he entered quickly so he wouldn't pass out. He didn't bother changing clothes; he didn't have the energy to. He collapsed onto the bed and curled up like a cat before drifting off to sleep.

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_FYI STATEMENT_

**Name:** VAP (Vehicle Assessment Program)

**Head:** Malcolm C. Leverrier (also referred to by certain people as Douchebag and/or Professor Douchebag)

**Description:** This program (and others like it) was founded in the year 2013 due to the drastic climate change. As the name states, it tests the cars and motorized vehicles that companies spew out to make sure they are qualified for driving in areas with civilization. Of course, this is not the main reason it was created because if it was, it would be just like every other inspection agency in the world.

**Specialized Component:** As mentioned earlier, VAP was formed to help reduce the CO2 gas emissions so that our planet does not become uninhabitable for humans. If it was up to Leverrier, he would have removed all the vehicles and voila: problem solved. Unfortunately for him, it was impossible to just up and get rid of the number one source of transportation in the world. This is where the VAP Challenge comes in.

Every five years a topic or 'theme' is given to all the car companies in the world. This 'theme' is what said company must base their new model of car on. For example, the first topic introduced was _Electricity. _The description was as follows:

"_Marking this as the Vehicle Assessment Program's first year, the 'Challenge' has been introduced. Not only will it help us on our mission to save our Earth, but it will also be a friendly competition for the various car manufacturing companies. The topic for this five year period is 'Electricity.' Basically what this means is that the next model of car that a company comes out with must run wholly on electricity without any gasoline whatsoever. It also must be inexpensive so that it can be purchased by middle-class citizens as well._

_The rules and further description of this 'Challenge' will be explained by CEO Malcolm C. Leverrier on October 7, 2013 by means of VB. Any and all questions will also be answered on this day."_

And so, every five years it was repeated and now it is on its fourth run. The topic is soon to be revealed…

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Kanda wasn't excited. He never got excited. It wasn't happiness either… It also wasn't satisfaction or anticipation or anything for that matter. Actually, if words were to describe him, he would be an emotionless zombie.

This was his first time doing the VAP Challenge and he didn't know what to think. His parents were always the ones to take care of this sort of stuff, so he never really paid attention. It didn't even matter for him seeing as the last time the Challenge happened he was far from qualified, being a teenager and all. But now, the big day had arrived.

He checked the clock on the dashboard. _7:22 am. _No need to worry; he would get there in time.

Kanda turned his eyes back to the road and took a deep breath. Not like he had the capability of worrying.

Like I said: emotionless zombie.

He took a left at the light and continued down the street. Now it was just a seven minute drive until he reached _First Illusion. _And 37 minutes until all his employees started filing into the conference room. And 97 minutes until that dick Leverrier began to fill them all in on the topic. Kanda's eyes darted to the clock.

Make that 96 minutes.

A weird feeling was starting to creep into his gut. He wasn't exactly sure what it was, but he just gritted his teeth and forced it away. It wouldn't do him any good to think about it. He didn't need any distractions today.

Speaking of distractions, the car in the lane next to him was starting to inch in front of his own car.

He let out a curse and swerved into the opposite lane, tires squealing. Once he was sure his car wouldn't stray into another lane, he allowed himself three seconds to shoot a glare over to the idiot who had almost killed him. It was an old man hunched over the steering wheel, chatting amiably with whoever was sitting in the passenger seat. Kanda growled unintelligible things under his breath.

It was times like these that his mind flashed back to that day three months ago when he had been walking downtown. He had passed this one shop that sold guns. Real blast-your-fucking-head-off hand guns. He had come so close to buying one until an emergency call for work had interrupted him. Damn that _moyashi _and his inability to use a printer.

Anyways, he was _really _regretting not buying that gun right about now.

Kanda shook his head of those thoughts as he finally reached _First Illusion. _He pulled into the parking lot and parked in his designated space, conveniently located by the front door. Oh, the perks of being President.

He jumped out of the vehicle, suitcase in hand, and turned to look at it for a second. This car was one of a kind. _Night Runner _was its name and aptly so. A dark black paint job gave it a sleek shine with a black leather interior to match. Two white lines led horizontally across each side and met at the back, forming the shape of a cross. When the ignition was started, the engine purred like a kitten but roared like a lion while speeding down the highway. Essentially, it was perfection at its finest and Kanda's first design to boot.

A self-satisfied smirk graced his features as he entered the building. Actually, skyscraper would be a more appropriate term for the massive structure. It rose next to many others in the downtown area, but was the tallest of them all.

Well, maybe only in Kanda's mind.

He nodded to the security guard stationed at the desk and continued towards the elevator. His destination lay on the topmost floor, number 35. Why the conference room had to be put in the highest part of the building, he would never know. Thank god he overcame his fear of heights three years ago.

Yes only three, don't judge.

He tapped his foot impatiently against the floor of the elevator as it slowly rose. The music playing softly in the background was beginning to get on his nerves. It was probably some overplayed pop song put into piano music. He would have to talk to someone about that.

Finally, the elevator stopped with a ding and opened up to reveal a long hallway. He strode forward with the footsteps of one who had walked the same path many times before. It didn't take him long to reach the end, turn right into an open doorway, and enter the spacious conference room.

Spacious was an understatement. The conference room basically took up the whole floor. A large marble gray harkness-style table with thirty black leather seats surrounding it occupied the center of the room. Not all of the seats were always used, but it was better to be prepared rather than not. Two wooden steps led down into the circular area where the table rested. A thin light gray carpet extended from the outside of this area, reaching out to the corners of the room. The only solid wall was painted a darker gray color, while the other three sides of the room were devoted to a long lining of windows that let in natural light. All around, it was a simple yet elegant design perfect for Kanda's tastes.

He purposefully strode to the one chair on the thinner end of the table (his chair was comfier than the rest of them, lucky bastard.) He set his briefcase on the table and sank into the chair gratefully.

Oh, how he loved his boss chair.

His eyes wandered to the VB stationed straight across from him. In about an hour and a half, he would know the topic. These next five years would be based wholly on what was about to go down; the fate of the company rested on his shoulders.

No pressure.

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_FYI STATEMENT_

**Name: **VB (Video Broadcast)

**Description: **Invented in 2014 by German scientist, Albrecht Engelbert, this revolutionary technology has helped many teachers and businessmen alike. It is fundamentally what the name says, a video broadcasting tool. This version is just a lot more advanced.

The VB is a small platform that rests horizontally on the ground. It doesn't look like much at first, but when you turn it on, an image appears. A 3D image that hovers just above the base platform. The image is a recreation of the sender: either full body, face, or even an eyebrow, if the person wants it. It is an excellent means of communication for meetings, seeing as it is also two-way.

Another feature of the VB is that it can be connected to a computer so that diagrams, maps, pictures, videos, and the like may be presented.

**Warning: **This platform is not to be stood upon or the VB will break. It is also very harmful to humans and has the potential to main or kill. There is a reason why Albrecht Engelbert only lived to the age of 37.

Word to the wise; watch your step or regret it.

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"You nervous?"

"No."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I am _not._"

"Then why are you gripping the table so hard?" Kanda looked down, surprised. His knuckles were turning white.

He immediately released the edge of the table and cleared his throat awkwardly. He chastised himself for being so weak. Allen patted his shoulder encouragingly. "Don't worry, it'll be over before you know it."

Kanda shook off the hand and stared pointedly straight down the row of employees in front of him. About fifteen other people were there, all of importance to the Challenge "I'm not worried and I'm _definitely _not nervous." He hissed. That was a complete lie. He was extremely nervous. Disgustingly so. But he wasn't about to tell Allen that.

He didn't see the smirk plastered to Allen's face as he leaned back. He did, however, notice how Tim Canpy wasn't in his usual spot.

Instead of standing on Kanda's left side, he was standing on his right. It was… strange. And completely unexpected. Wasn't the whole reason he always stood on his left because of-.

Kanda froze. His eyes narrowed as he looked- really looked- at Tim. He was standing with his hands crossed behind his back. His gaze was trained on the opposite wall. Nothing new there. Only people who knew him really well would be able to see the stiffness in his shoulders, the twitching of his pointer finger, the unrelenting tapping of his foot, the slight quiver of his blue eye that meant he was barely containing a horrible rage…

Good thing Kanda knew Tim really well.

Then, he considered Allen. It wasn't hard to tell there was something wrong with him, too. He was as easy to read as an open book.

Pathetic, really.

His eyebrows were knitted in confusion and he kept stealing glances at Tim. As Kanda watched, their eyes met briefly. Tim looked away almost instantly, leaving Allen staring after him with hurt written all over his face until he too looked away. Kanda blinked.

What the hell? Was the world ending? Allen Walker and Tim Canpy _**never**_ fight. Italics, bold, and underline on never. Complete and total emphasis. That word means business.

It was just one of those things. Almost like Brad and Angelina. Positive and negative magnets. Yin and yang. Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-dum. Communists and China.

Aka, they were close. A lot closer than most friends. In fact, they were nearly inseparable. It was impossible to see one without the other. Sometimes, it even seemed as if they were of the same mind. Well, as the great Aristotle once said, "Friendship is a single soul dwelling within two bodies."

Something must have happened. Something really bad. Kanda pondered the dilemma in his head. The question was _what_ exactly transpired that made them like this.

No matter how hard he thought, he just couldn't come up with anything. Actually, he did have this one theory… but it was so farfetched it couldn't be possible. _That _happening to them-

"Kanda!" He was interrupted out of his reverie by Allen's insistent voice. He crossed his arms and glared at him. "Look, it's starting." Kanda gulped and turned his attention to the VB. An image of Leverrier sitting at a desk appeared. After a pause, he began to speak, all business.

"Good morning, my friends and fellow employees." He said in an almost sarcastic tone. Kanda growled inwardly. He really hated this guy. "I would like to give a special welcome to Alfred Langton, Patricia Stills…" He drawled on, listing the names of all of the presidents in no particular order. As each name was called off, an image of their conference room with them around their respective tables flashed past. He zoned out for this part. It didn't matter because only one of these people was actually any competition.

"…Lavi Bookman…" Speak of the devil. A feed of Lavi in all his eye-patched glory came up. In the brief second Kanda saw him, he noted that the other was resting his chin in his hand and examining his nails, looking for all the world _bored._ And on the most important day for every single one of the presidents, too!

That's Bookman for you. Can't take anything seriously.

"I would also like to give a congratulations to Lavi Bookman for winning the previous Challenge." Kanda grimaced. Leverrier leaned forward. "Let's not beat around the bush, here. I know you all are excited to get started." Kanda was far from excited. He glared at the image of the man. "Ah, Kanda, smiles as usual. Always the enthusiastic kid, I see." Kanda's look became mutinous.

"And you're getting distracted as usual. Haven't you grown out of that yet?" He snarled, taking pleasure in the fact that the CEO's countenance darkened. "Besides, I'm not a child anymore, Leverrier." Much to Kanda's disdain, he chuckled.

"Right you are, Kanda. Right you are. Now let us proceed." Leverrier sobered. "As you all know, these Challenges are to help save the environment, so as to prevent our earth from becoming uninhabitable, yada yada yada. You get the picture." He brought his hands up to rest on the desk in front of him, twining his fingers together before continuing. "This year's theme is _sunlight. _As in the car has to be able to run solely on solar power; no gasoline or anything else. Here are the criteria:

One. The panels must be hidden from the naked eye. Nobody wants to buy a car with huge ugly plates on top.

Two. As in past years, it must be cheap enough for a middle-class American to purchase. Do you hear me Forchestor? No million dollar cars, got it? We will not have a repeat of last year.

Three. The car must be able to run for a week without any sunlight. I'll give you all a hint; you're going to need large storage tanks." He began snickering to himself.

"I assume we're finished." A woman said. Her conference room area popped up on the VB while she talked. As soon as she finished speaking, Leverrier's beautiful face came to greet Kanda.

"Hold up everyone. I'm not finished just yet." A sly smile spread its way across his face. "This year, there's a catch." Kanda's stomach flipped.

A catch? Since when was there a catch?

"Well, that got everyone's attention." Leverrier said. "I am glad to see you are so eager to begin." Kanda gritted his teeth, fed up with his attitude.

"Cut the crap, Leverrier. What's the catch?" He snapped. The CEO glared into the camera.

"You're insolence is not welcome, Kanda Yuu. You should learn to respect your elders." Kanda held his tongue. As much as he wanted to say some biting comment, he knew it would just land him more trouble than it was worth.

Leverrier accepted his silence with a nod. "Good. Now that that's over, here's the catch." He edged closer to the camera, as if it wasn't already easy to see his three-dimensional face in detail. "This is not a solo project. Every company must partner up with another to design this vehicle."

Dead silence. Then it seemed as if everyone began yelling at the same time, like they were having some sort of shouting contest. Kanda included.

"What? You mean-"

"No! I refuse!"

"You can't seriously expect-"

"What kind of game are you-"

"How are we supposed to-"

The VB flashed by so many faces so fast, Kanda's head began to hurt. But he was protesting just as loud as the next guy. That was, until Leverrier decided to shut them all up.

"ENOUGH!" All the voices stopped. "There is no arguing with this decision. Anyone who has any complaints can take it up with the head of VAP." He said calmly. "Oh wait; that's me. And I don't want to hear it." He slammed his hands on the desk in finality. "You're in the real world now, not kindergarten."

"I think it will be a good experience for all of us." Lavi's face replaced Leverrier's on the VB. He seemed to be deep in thought. "It's not like we have a choice, anyways. You might as well look on the bright side."

"You should all follow Mr. Bookman's example. He sets a good one." The CEO said, smirking. "By the way, you must send me the name of your partner and their company by midnight tonight. Good luck." With that, the VB shut off, leaving no time for anyone to protest. In place of Leverrier's face, an empty chart appeared with the title 'Partnerships' typed across the top.

Kanda leaned back into his chair and breathed out a sigh he didn't know he had been holding in. He looked up to see that all eyes were on him.

"Well?" Allen prompted. Kanda considered this. As much as he didn't want to, he knew exactly who he should be paired with.

And he had to get him before anyone else did.

Kanda stood up. "I think we all know who the obvious choice is." He paused before reluctantly saying. "Lavi Bookman, the winner of the Competition. Many will be targeting him for this as well."

"Then we should get him on the phone immediately." George Ward, Chief Mechanic, called out. Kanda shook his head.

"No need for that. I already know he wants to partner up with _First Illusion. _Our company did win the Challenge before he won his, anyways." He watched as two names appeared on the screen.

One partnership down, thirteen to go.

"I want to see if he will make the first move. If he doesn't; at least it will show that we aren't desperate to partner up with _Akuma. _That's the name of the game; playing hard to get." He waved a hand dismissively. "You may all leave." His employees got up and began to file out the door. Allen and Tim remained with him. As soon as everyone was gone, Allen threw his hands up in the air and faced him.

"Are you shitting me Kanda? Playing hard to get? Really?" He asked incredulously. Kanda chuckled darkly.

"Like I said, I want him to make the first move. It's like playing chess. You want to see what your opponent will do before you move your own pawn." A knowing smile began to grow on Allen's face.

"I see. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, huh?" Kanda nodded.

"You can go now. Oh, and if you would tell everyone they have the day off, that would be great. We can't do anything without our partner, so what's the point." He noted that Tim walked out as fast as he could, leaving a confused Allen trailing behind.

So, maybe it was just Tim that was angry? That meant Allen was the guilty party. But guilty of what exactly?

Kanda shook his head free of those thoughts. He had better things to do than wonder why Tim was pissed off at Allen.

He placed his iPhone on the table before sliding into his seat. Crossing his legs, he shifted to get more comfortable and watched the VB. Now there were three partnerships. He smirked at the glowing image.

He would give Lavi thirty minutes. If he didn't try to contact Kanda by then, he himself would call the man.

Speaking of calls, his phone was ringing. He grabbed at it and saw an unknown number on the screen. He pressed 'reject' and leaned back, cell gripped tightly in his fist. He knew it was one of the other companies trying to partner up with him. He just didn't have the patience to talk to them right now.

Five unanswered calls and two newly announced partnerships later, his phone rang once again. Only, this time, a picture of a carrot showed up on the screen. The carrot being Lavi.

Get it? Because he's a ginger? Never mind.

Kanda pressed the send button before placing the phone against his ear. "Lavi Bookman, I was wondering when you were going to call. My heart has been aching to hear your lovely voice."

"Spare me." Came the annoyed reply. "Let's get to the chase, shall we?"

"I'm guessing you want to partner up for the Challenge."

"Isn't that obvious? So, you in?"

"Hmmm… let me think…" He heard Lavi click his tongue impatiently and smirked. "Yes."

"Great. I'm on my way over to _First Illusion _so we can discuss this design we have to make." That caught Kanda by surprise.

"What? You can't wait till tomorrow?"

"Nope. Besides, it's not for my sake; it's for yours." He could practically hear the grin in Lavi's voice. "I know you can't bear to be without my presence for one moment longer. Don't worry, I'll be right there, baby." With that, Lavi hung up.

Kanda scoffed and ended the call so he could start another one. He typed in the required numbers and put it on speaker. After two rings, someone picked up.

"This is Leverrier of VAP; how may I help you?"

"It's Kanda. I'd like to let you know Lavi Bookman and I will be working together."

"Bookman? That's a surprise. I thought you hated each other."

"We do. But we're going to win this Challenge." Kanda said shortly. He really didn't want to have a conversation with this guy.

"Cocky, aren't we? This will be interesting to watch. I'm wondering how this is going to play out…"

"You and me both." He said and hung up. With a sigh, he put his phone back on the table and observed the VB. It took about a minute before Lavi's and Kanda's names showed up, side by side. Seeing this, Kanda had to agree with Leverrier on one thing.

This was going to be interesting.

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**Sooooo, second chapter finished. Tell me what you thought, please! **

**Also, I have exams next week, so don't expect a fast update, but ill try!**

**RandR!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Argument

**Really sorry for the late update, I had exams, then my internet stopped working or some shit like that, so I couldn't post it at my house. And I forgot I had to go to summer camp for three weeks (don't ask me; I have no clue **_**how **_**I forgot…) and its one of those 'love the environment' places with no electronics *sigh* so… yeah. I also have a feeling that this chappie sucks really hard, so for you anger management problem peoples, don't hurt me please! (Oh well; life goes on :P) Now for brighter stuff:**

**OMG thank you sooo much for the reviews. I posted the new chappie, and within the next 20 minutes I have new reviews XD. I'm so glad to know that people actually read this stuff!**

**For those of you who wish to know what BAWB means, I have decided that it will be one of those 'reveal at end of story' things**

**WARNINGS: Lots of cursing in English, Japanese, and British (which is still English, just weirder) and fighting and stuff… super OOC characters (especially Tyki)… usage of a hand held weapon (don't touch guns, kids, they're extremely dangerous)**

**DISCLAIMER OF DOOM: I do not own D. Gray-man. If I did, there would be man on man lovin'… yeah :D**

**AND REMEMBER: HUGS NOT DRUGS**

***jumps on random horse* On with the story! *rides away into the sunset***

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Unexpectedly, Kanda and Lavi were working well together. There weren't (many) arguments, they learned to get along with (almost tolerate) each other, and they began to understand one another on a more personal level (that's a lie).

Okay, so maybe their partnership wasn't going very well. But that was to be anticipated. One doesn't just go from being enemies with another to being 'BFF's with a wave of a magical wand.

Magical wands don't exist, regrettably.

They did, however, agree on one point; they wanted to win. Lavi and Kanda both had that competitive edge and 'losing' wasn't a word easily comprehended for them. This goal was what drove them to put aside their differences and at least try to civil.

It wasn't as simple as it sounded.

"No. I already told you that would screw up the entire design!" Kanda said, exasperatedly, for the third time. Lavi didn't seem to be able to comprehend that 'no' means 'no.' It does _not_ mean 'I bet if you say it one more time, I will agree; just keep trying.'

How hard is that to understand?

"Well, I already told _you. _If the photovoltaic modules went here, then it would be able to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight." Lavi said it as if it were obvious. Kanda face-palmed.

"I know that, _baka usagi! _I get what you are trying to say." He said, struggling to keep his voice even, but ultimately failing. "But, if we do what you are saying, one of the guidelines will be screwed up. Were you even listening at the conference last week? Everything has to be perfect or we won't win! If we have to, we'll redo the design; we still have a long time before the competition ends. And no we can't spray paint the fucking things!" He cut off Lavi before he could make a stupid comment. But the redhead seemed distracted.

"'Idiot rabbit?' Why do you keep calling me that?" Lavi questioned, looking at Kanda with eyebrows furrowed. He blinked, anger momentarily forgotten.

"You can speak Japanese?"

"A little." Kanda smirked.

"_Anata wa kuso urusai yarōdesu. Kuso jigoku ni ikuto subete no I kea no tame soko ni taizai!" _The words rolled off his tongue a lot easier than English. It was a little weird, though, to speak in his native language after so long of not doing just that. It felt good, too.

Lavi obviously didn't think so. "Yuu-chan, that was very rude." He reprimanded. "Is that really how you feel about me?" Kanda shrugged.

"Back to what I said before, if this was-"

"You didn't answer my question." Lavi looked at him expectantly. Kanda sighed.

"Is this really so important that we ha-"

"Yes." Lavi interrupted. Kanda's eyebrow twitched.

"Fine." He said. "It's simple, really. You are a fucking idiot." Lavi's frown deepened even as a small smile spread across his face. "And, for some unknown reason, you remind me of a rabbit. Probably because rabbits are the stupidest most idiotic creatures ever to walk the face of this earth." He didn't mention the part about him thinking rabbits were cute. He would kill himself before he ever told Lavi he thought rabbits were _cute. _Then he might think Kanda thought Lavi was cute.

And _that _would destroy the earth, zombie apocalypse be damned.

He felt a sharp tug at his neck and let out a (very manly) yelp of surprise. A strong hand was yanking on his tie. He was pulled forward until he came face to face with a laughing Lavi. The redhead drew him even closer and for one strange second, Kanda thought Lavi was going to kiss him. But he didn't; he just hovered in front of his face, grinning. "Please don't call me an idiot, Yuu-chan. If we're going to work together, we have to play nice."

"Tch. I'll play nice when hell freezes over. And stop calling me by my first name."

"Then don't call me an idiot."

"You are one, why shouldn't I?"

"I'm not an idiot!" Lavi whined.

"Tell that to me when we win." But Lavi ignored him to continue ranting.

"You can call me an asshole, a douchebag, a serial rapist; I don't care." Lavi pouted, seemingly having forgotten that he had a grip on Kanda's tie. "But I am not stupid and definitely not an idiot. I would appreciate it if you would stop saying that to me." Kanda glowered at him. Someone cleared their throat.

"What?" Kanda barked, turning in the direction of the noise. That was when he realized there were other people in the room. Lavi released his tie.

The side of the table Kanda was sitting on had ten of his closest representatives. The same went for Lavi on the other side. And almost every single one of them was looking very uncomfortable.

"Why, Yuu, I do believe we have forgotten where we are."

"Tch." Kanda rolled his eyes and glared at Allen who was sitting next to him. "What do you want?" Allen pouted mockingly.

"Why do you just assume it was me? It could have been that guy." He said, pointing at a curly-haired man across from him. The man in question was laying his head in his arms, looking uninterested in what was going on. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the accusing finger pointing at him. "He looks suspicious."

"Yuu, control your employees." Lavi chuckled, serious for once. "I'd appreciate it if my Vice President was left without emotional scarring." The man scoffed.

"'Emotional scarring?' Please, Bookman, spare us from your antics." The _Akuma _VP said silkily, running a hand through his wild curls. His intelligent golden eyes regarded Allen with disdain. "And you are…?" The white-haired man made an indignant noise.

"My name is Allen. Allen Walker." No response. "I just said my name at the beginning of this meeting." Still, nothing. "We've also met before." Allen tried to get a rise out of him, but the man seemed unmoved by his words. He sighed, frustrated. "I know who _you _are, Tyki Mikk."

"Is this supposed to impress me? A lot of people know who I am." Tyki said drily, inspecting his nails. Allen slumped over in defeat.

"Has anyone ever told you you're an egotistical pricky bastard?" He muttered dejectedly. Tyki slammed his hands down on the conference table and stood up.

"Excuse me?" He snarled, his golden eyes flashing with anger. Kanda's eyebrows shot up. Bookman's Vice President had an anger management problem, apparently. He wrote that down in his mental notebook for later use.

The woman sitting beside Tyki placed her hand on his arm.

"Calm yourself, Tyki. He's not worth the trouble." She said softly, raising a finger to push her glasses up her nose. Tyki shook her off.

"Sorry, Lu, but this little brat needs to learn his place." Allen stood up as well, fury swirling in his silver eyes.

"I am not a brat and I am definitely _not_ little." He threw his arms up. "In case you hadn't noticed, we have the same fucking job, bastard. Why you think you are better than me is ridiculous because I bet I worked my ass off to get where I am a lot harder than you, you insufferable twat!" Allen yelled, his British accent that he always tried so desperately to hide coloring his last few words. He covered his mouth with his hand and his eyes widened. His hand clenched and he cursed.

"Look what you've done now! I'm so angry, I'm British!" He cried. Kanda watched unbelievingly. Was this seriously going to turn into a fight? In the middle of his conference room?

Hell no.

He glanced over at Lavi. The redhead was looking at the two with a small smile on his face. He didn't seem to be getting up and stopping this any time soon. And those two idiots were still arguing. Not only that, but it seemed as if everyone else had joined in.

Looks like it wasn't just Kanda and Lavi that couldn't get along. Where was Tim when you needed him? Kanda hovered on that thought.

Where _was _Tim? There was one question he wanted the answer to. He took out his phone and dialed Tim's number.

It didn't really make any sense that Tim had a phone, seeing as he didn't talk and all. Kanda had only bought it for him last month, just in case he needed anything. Tim didn't need to say a word; just listen.

The line picked up and Kanda said, "You're needed in the conference room. It would be nice if you could help shut everyone up." He heard a short laugh on the other end before a grunt of assent. The line went dead, so Kanda put his phone away with a sigh. He decided that he should at least try to stop the argument before Tim Canpy got there.

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Allen's face was completely red as he continued to shout at Tyki, who was just as furious as the white-haired man. They were both leaning across the table, noses almost touching, oblivious to all the others who were also yelling at their company counterparts.

Kanda grabbed Allen's arm. "Allen, what the hell do you think you're doing?" He growled, tugging harshly so they were facing each other. Allen turned his wrath onto Kanda.

"Oh, belt it, you damn wanker!" He was surprised at the fierceness radiating off of Allen. He was also surprised at how he didn't really understand what he was saying. "You can take the damn project and shove it up your ass. I will _not _work with this imbecile!"

As soon as Allen finished his British rant, Kanda gave up and waited for Tim to get there. He usually loved screaming at people to shut their mouths and sit down, but he wasn't feeling too hot today. He'd rather have someone almost as scary as himself do it for him.

Hence the Tim Canpy.

Allen had spun back around to face an amused Tyki. His expression morphed into one of complete rage as the white-haired man shot a particularly offensive insult at him. Tyki proceeded to affront Allen in a similar way, and it just escalated from there.

"It looks as if we're the only ones who aren't trying to rip out each other's throats." Kanda glanced over to Lavi to see him watching the whole scene with a small smile on his face. When he noticed Kanda's look, he turned and his smile widened as he winked. "Why, sweetheart, I think this is progress."

Kanda had the sudden urge to rip his throat out.

A loud boom resounded throughout the room before Kanda could accomplish what he wanted to do. Some people stopped arguing to see what it was, but most continued. The long-haired man saw Tim enter with four Security guards trailing close behind.

"About fucking time." He jumped up and met Tim halfway into the room. Tim flashed a sharp-toothed smirk and gestured to the guards, raising an eyebrow. "I only needed one." He said, reaching out to the closest man, a tall brunette with green eyes, and grabbed the gun slung on his waist. The man clearly wasn't expecting it and Kanda managed to dart out of his wild grasp and back to his seat. Not wasting any time, he raised it above his head and shot it twice. The whole room went silent.

"Sir, you aren't allo- Woah!" Kanda lowered the gun and everyone seemed to collectively duck to the ground. He scoffed disbelievingly and tossed the gun at feet of the man he took it from. The man's eyes widened and he hopped deftly away. "Eh! That could've gone off and hurt someone. You have to be more careful sir!" Kanda shot him a resentful glare and watched in satisfaction as the man visibly gulped.

"What is your name?" The man looked taken aback.

"Uh, Jackson Welsh, sir."

"For fuck's sake, stop calling me sir. That was my father and he's dead." Jackson winced. Ignoring him, Kanda knelt and picked up the gun. A range of gasps and exclamations went through the conference room and members of Akuma and First Illusion alike cowered in fear for their lives. "Do you really think I could've killed someone by dropping this?" He turned the gun over in his hands, examining it as he asked the question. He turned his gaze onto Jackson, waiting for an answer. The man adopted a stern expression.

"Yes sir, which is-"

"Stop saying that!" Kanda snapped. What little noise had been in the vicinity disappeared completely, replaced by a thick silence as they waited with baited breath for the outcome of the confrontation. Kanda looked down at the gun in his palm and ran his finger over it lovingly. "When I was about seven years old, my father bought me my first gun. A derringer. He taught me all about it and others. After a year, he showed me more. He showed me how to shoot a moving target in the heart from a mile away. He showed me how to take down three men with my eyes closed. He showed me how to tell exactly how many bullets are in each gun. And you really think someone could have died." He sighed. "Let's see." Before anyone could protest he pointed the gun right at Lavi's head.

The room erupted in shrieks and protests, but Kanda's voice rang louder than them all. "_Everyone shut up!" _And they did.

"Don't worry, he's not going to kill me." Lavi regarded him with an interested countenance. "He will shoot me, but he's not going to kill me." He grinned. "Take your best shot, Yuu!"

Kanda growled at the lack of fear in his partner's eyes and voice. How was he not cringing in horror and grovelling on the floor for his life? He couldn't possibly know what Kanda did. He couldn't possibly know there weren't any bullets left. Could he?

"Now, Kanda. Let's take a minute here to sort through things, okay? How does that sound?" Kanda rolled his eyes at Allen's desperate plea and cocked the gun. He glared at the redhead, the other staring levelly back at him with a hint of amusement on his face.

That did it. He pulled the trigger.

A thump was heard as Lavi's body fell to the floor. Kanda smirked at his mischief. Tyki looked as if he had caught on too and was holding back laughter. Allen, on the hand, screamed his dissent and many shocked faces stood up beside him. A few people tried to tackle Kanda, but the three other security guards kept them away. All of a sudden, it seemed as if every person was trying to get at either Kanda or Lavi.

The dark-haired man crossed his arms and tapped his foot, getting fed up with waiting. He looked between the bodies of the guards and called over to where Lavi was.

"Hey, _baka usagi_! How long do you plan on playing dead?" This stopped the ruckus and all eyes were on where Lavi's body was. His sitting up and laughing body. Kanda growled and walked through the crowd of personnel. He came to stand in front of the redhead and sent him the strongest glare he could muster.

Kanda could muster some pretty fucking serious glares.

Lavi rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking up at Kanda through his long eyelashes. He smiled shyly and coughed to fill the awkward silence. Something stirred in his chest, but he ignored it, choosing to be angry instead. He's Kanda Yuu, it's what he does best.

"How did you know?" Lavi blinked back with false innocence.

"I know a lot of things… What exactly did I know?" Kanda seethed silently, his rage slowly mounting.

"Everyone out." He said, deadly calm. To his dismay (or rather theirs), no one moved an inch. He spun towards their makeshift 'audience.' "_Get the fuck out!" _After that, it was a stampede just to get to the door. He saw a flicker of red out of the corner of his eye and his hand shot out, latching onto the white dress shirt attached to the idiot ginger trying to escape. Lavi squeaked as he was yanked back and thrown into his chair harshly. He smiled enthusiastically up at Kanda while he, in turn, glared as usual.

"How did you know I wasn't going to hurt you?" He asked bitingly. Lavi shrugged and held his gaze steadily as most else wouldn't dare to do.

"I trust you." Kanda's glare fell off his face for a moment as he regarded the redhead. He seemed sincere. Maybe… maybe this could work, given some time. Maybe they could get along and get this project done without any more fights. "There is also the fact that you would have gotten get arrested and sent to prison, basically throwing your company in disarray and losing a lot of money. You don't seem like the kind of person willing to take bets and definitely not willing to lose money. Am I right?"

Or maybe not.

"This isn't working out." Kanda stated flatly. Lavi's playful smile faltered. "You and I both know it. It has been two weeks since the competition started and we barely have a rough sketch, much less an actual _design. _I think we'd be better off with other partners for this competition." He turned around with finality. The whole plan to get information from his partner could go fuck itself. It wasn't worth it. But Lavi's hand latched onto his wrist before he could exit the room.

"Wait." His muscles tensed at the unwelcome touch. But he found that it wasn't as unwelcome as it should have been. "I didn't mean to make you angry." Kanda glared over his shoulder. "Okay, I did mean to make you angry. But it was just for fun!" Lavi said quickly as Kanda yanked his arm out of his grasp. "Okay okay okay! I'm sorry! But you have to listen to me! We can't just stop now, we have to see this through to the end. If we don't, these past couple weeks would have meant nothing." Kanda scoffed.

"We got nothing done. They already do mean nothing." Lavi chuckled.

"Well, then. Let's make them mean something, hmm?" Kanda wasn't angry anymore. He just wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Then they could go back to not talking or associating with each other except as competitors. That was the day that Kanda strove towards.

"You're right." Lavi smiled in relief. "But this time, it's just us. I don't know if I can stand that VP of yours for much longer. His lazy attitude is getting on my nerves." Kanda wanted to change the subject before things got too sappy. He hated sappy things.

"It's just a façade." Lavi explained, oblivious to Kanda's 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' expression. "He likes to pretend he doesn't care, but he does. You should've seen him when his niece came with his brother to pick him up one day. He looked really happy…" Lavi started reminiscing about what he was talking about and Kanda had to snap his fingers to reclaim his focus, which annoyed him to no end.

"Okay, lover boy, let's get to work." In a flash, bouncy hyperactive Lavi was back. Kanda didn't know if Lavi didn't hear his comment or just chose to ignore it, but he wished he would have gotten a reaction to see exactly how the redhead stood with his VP…

Woah.

When did crazy jealous teenage girl infiltrate Kanda's head?

He really needed to get a hold of himself or he might go insane. Insanity was not a good quality when one needed to get something done… and boy did he need to get this done. It was almost exhausting…

Wait a minute.

Exhausting. Exhaust. Emissions…

Bingo.

"We need to work. Now." He darted over to the table and took up the pen they had been using before, leaving a gaping Lavi in his tracks. Kanda glanced back at him. "What are you waiting for? I have an idea." Lavi bolted over with a grin on his face and hope that this 'idea' wouldn't blow up in their faces.

**Yeah, I'm gonna go die now.**

**Anyways, review and tell me what you thought and I promise next chapter will be a lot better. I have a whole plan for this story, the hard part is leading up to it. And also, I'm going to be in Michigan for the next week and a half and I cant bring my laptop (blerg) but I promise to update within the next two weeks.**

**Well, I hope I can DX**

**I will also post the first chapter for this other fanfic that I started writing. Its gonna be rated t cuz its OOC and stuff, but please give it a try :D :D :D :D :D :D I'll luv you forever!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Visit

**Hey, it's your lovely authoress speaking and I would like to thank you all for the reviews! Seriously, you people are amazing and you are what keeps me updating this story!**

**I would like to announce that im changing the plot of the story a bit (but you probably wouldn't have noticed, I just felt the need to say it…)**

**Oh yeah, and I think I mentioned something about posting the first chappie for a different story, and I tried to, but fanfiction screwed up or whatever and then I decided to not post it til later… so yeah**

**Im gonna just get on with it now (but I fucking love you guys XD)**

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Two and a half weeks, twenty arguments (five of them fatal), and four trashed blueprints after the bombshell that was the first conference between the two companies, the design was completed. It was actually really simple, so simple that the two Presidents couldn't believe they hadn't thought of it before. It made Lavi laugh hysterically and when Lavi laughed hysterically it made Kanda want to strangle him to death and when Kanda wanted to strangle him to death it made them argue and when they argued things got out of hand.

But that was a common occurrence (and why five of the arguments were fatal).

Anyways, the design fit all of the descriptions perfectly. Solar panels coated the complete top hood of the car. In order to better conceal them, they researched a special dye that is able to conform to any object and make it any color of the rainbow. It just depended on what was mixed with it.

The only bad part about this discovery was that the only place to get the product was on the backstreets of Austria. It was also incredibly expensive, seeing as it only existed in one part of the world. But Kanda had many resources at his disposal. That combined with Lavi's assets made them virtually unstoppable.

And neither of them was adverse to blackmail.

The car was definitely cheap enough for middle class Americans and the storage tanks were large enough to keep the car going for a week, if not more. It was small and sleek, but could fit five passengers. Lavi and Kanda's design would be perfect for anyone, whether it was a forty year old businessman or a soccer mom driving her kids to practice. And, as a plus, they incorporated the dye in a way that would allow the owner of the car to change the color to whatever they liked. They both hoped this would get them extra points with Leverrier.

But first the model had to be built so they could see if it actually worked.

"So I guess we have the week off, huh?" Kanda jumped in surprise. He turned away from the papers he was authorizing to see Lavi leaning against the wall of the conference room. He looked comfortable, as if he had been there for a while, watching, learning. Doing whatever Lavis do.

"When did you-?"

"So what are we going to do?" Lavi asked, ignoring what Kanda was saying. As usual.

He sighed.

"Lavi, I'm working. Go away." Kanda began scanning the papers again. He found that it grew harder and harder to concentrate as a pair of feet shuffled slowly over to the table. By the time Lavi reached the chair next to his, he had read the same line over nine times. He growled and dropped the documents. "Don't you have your own company to run?" Lavi smiled.

"Yes, I do." He stopped at that, apparently not going to say anymore. Kanda raised his eyebrows in askance.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to go run it?"

"Nope." Again, Lavi didn't elaborate. He just relaxed back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head. Kanda resisted the urge to push the chair out of one of the many windows lining the room.

"You're not giving me the right answers."

"You're not asking me the right questions." Kanda's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth.

"You're unbearable."

"In case you hadn't noticed, you are too." The tone of the redhead's voice turned his rising anger into curiosity. Lavi didn't sound rude or sarcastic; just matter of fact. Kanda glanced up at him. The redhead was zoned out, seemingly in his own little world.

"Why say it like that?" Lavi blinked and moved his gaze from the wall to Kanda's face. The long-haired man regretted saying anything when that one green eye stared into his own. He sensed that their conversation had taken a serious turn. Lavi cocked his head slightly to the right.

"Isn't everyone unbearable in their own way? I mean, there's something about all people on this earth, at least _one _thing that just pisses others off. Don't you think?" Kanda couldn't help but nod. He was mesmerized by the brightness of Lavi's eye, and he found himself wondering what his other one looked like.

Maybe he received an injury when he was younger that left an ugly scar he was embarrassed about. Or maybe he was like Tim with his two different colored eyes and he didn't want to be gawked at everywhere he went. He could even have another brilliant emerald eye sparkling under that patch and Kanda would be none the wiser.

"Of course, you are more unbearable than any normal person what with your constant yelling and anger management problems. I think you should see a psychiatrist before you scare a small child or punch an old man in the face. You also growl a lot; were you a dog in a past life?"

And the moment was gone.

Kanda snapped out of his reverie. And he was mad. _Really _mad. And Lavi was smiling. Fucking _grinning. _Which made him even angrier.

He stood up, shaking with silent fury.

"You son of a-."

"_Heeeeeeyyyyyy guys_!" Allen's incredibly loud voice blasted through the otherwise soundless room, surprising both of the Presidents.

Kanda's head snapped toward the door and he tripped over his chair. Lavi stared at him wide-eyed as he fell forward. Kanda's hand brushed the top of the table, making the papers fly everywhere. And they both realized that Allen wasn't in the room.

Lavi yelped as the full force of Kanda's body weight hit him right in the chest. Kanda tried to stop his fall, but he couldn't find any purchase and just ended up right on top of the redhead. It wasn't so bad at first, but then they hit the ground.

Kanda knew the air rushed out of Lavi's lungs because it happened to him as well. It was probably a lot worse for the redhead, though. A bit of concern pricked at the corner of his being, but he ignored it.

There was an unspoken barrier between the two of them and Lavi had just broken it. He deserved to be in a bit of pain.

"Get… off… me." Lavi gasped out. Kanda would've laughed at the way the redhead looked right then, trying to inhale as much air as possible, if it weren't for the fact that he was feeling much the same way.

And Kanda never laughed.

He rolled off Lavi and regretted it the moment he did it. It wasn't so bad when he had been still, but now that he moved, a sharp pain bit at his chest. After shifting around a little, it wasn't so bad. It was more annoying than anything. But he was Kanda Yuu.

He could deal with it.

It wasn't like he didn't already deal with a certain annoying something every day. Not naming names (Lavi) of course.

"_Woah. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything… you two look a bit… flustered." _Allen's laughing voice came from a small speaker next to an even smaller video camera. Kanda sat up with a slight wince and glared at the camera.

"Allen, what the fuck are you doing in the Security office?" A sheepish chuckle came out of the speaker. Lavi sat up next to him, taking deep breaths with a hand over his heart.

"Jeese, give us a little warning before you do that next time, eh?" He said, irritated. "I don't want Yuu to flatten me into a pancake. I like my body the way it is, thank you very much."

"_So does Kanda." _Allen giggled girlishly.

Kanda face-palmed.

"Did he just make a sexual comment about us?" Lavi asked it like he was asking his mom where babies come from. Kanda groaned.

He really was working with a bunch of idiots.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Allen, enough with the jokes and tell me why, exactly, you are speaking to us over an off-limit intercom?" There was a pause before Allen spoke again.

"_I sensed a spike in the rage-meter and had to check that you weren't beating the living daylights out of your partner. It was out of the kindness of my heart I did this and you should be thankful. I basically just kept you out of prison for the rest of your life. And you know what else? I think I hear the sound of a raise in the middle distance. Do you?" _He rolled his eyes. Allen was acting like a little girl. He wanted to know the real reason as to why he was down there. He wished the white-haired man would stop beating around the bush; it was exasperating.

And he wasn't getting that raise.

"I don't hear it."

"_Really? I think it just got louder." _

"Is he always like this?" Lavi whispered. Kanda inclined his head at him.

"Every fucking day." The redhead frowned.

"Well, why don't you fire him?" Kanda scoffed. He couldn't help it; the question was just too ridiculous to him.

"I couldn't fire him. He gets the job done and that's all that matters." Lavi seemed satisfied with that answer. "It's not like I could fire him even if I wanted to." He mumbled the last part under his breath.

As if he hadn't already considered that.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"_Are you guys done gossiping? Because a certain douche bag is here to see you." _Kanda froze and felt Lavi do the same. He stood up and took a small step toward the camera.

"You don't mean… Leverrier?"

"_The one and only." _For a second, Kanda panicked.

"He's not in the room with you, is he?" Allen chuckled.

"_Of course not!" _Kanda sighed in relief. _"As much as I hate the guy, I'm not about to say what I think of him to his face. Thankfully for me there're many others I can do that to. For example," _Kanda ignored the now rambling Allen and extended a hand to Lavi. The redhead took it, gladly, and let the long-haired man help pull him up. A sudden thought struck Kanda.

"Allen, where is he?"

"_On his way up."_

"_What?_" Kanda immediately dropped to the floor and started picking up the scattered papers. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?" Allen should've known he would get all worked up about this. He hated it when people arrived unannounced, and since it was Leverrier, he hated it even more.

The guy really ticked him off for some reason. Not only that, but he felt weak when he was around. Weak and scared, like he was a little boy. And that just ticked him off even more.

Maybe it was the Hitler-esc figure. Or maybe it was the fact that the man could have any one of these car companies shut down in the blink of an eye if he wanted.

Yeah, probably the latter.

"Wow, you're in a state. Do you really think he's that bad?" Lavi crouched down next to him and helped gather the documents in some semblance of an order.

"_He hates the guy with a burning passion." _Allen chimed in. _"I don't know why 'cause he won't tell me." _Kanda felt Lavi's eyes bore into the side of his head, but he refused to look. He guessed that the other was starting to figure out that it wasn't just hate that he felt toward Leverrier, but also a small amount of fear. "_He really shouldn't worry that much; I was joking before. I bought him some time, like the amazing Vice President I am." _Kanda picked up the last paper and placed the pile on the table. Lavi deposited the ones he had gathered on top.

"Oh really? How did you do that?"

"_I told him that you just introduced a new mandatory rule. Apparently, now everyone has to be strip searched before entering the building."_ Kanda stopped rearranging the chairs.

"You said _what?" _He asked sharply. Allen laughed. A small noise sounded behind him and he saw that Lavi was also snickering behind his hand. "It's not funny! For the love of God, Allen, please tell me you did not strip search Malcolm Leverrier, our fucking _boss!"_ Lavi quieted at that.

"_Oh come on, I didn't actually do it. I only told him he had to wash his hands and feet before entering."_

"That's not much better."

"_Okay, okay. Yell at me later. I've got to go, he just got in the elevator. Have fun." _And with that, the line cut off, leaving the partners in the room alone once again.

Kanda shuffled back and collapsed in his chair. Quiet settled over the room even as Lavi sat down next to him. They both stayed there, waiting for Leverrier to arrive.

"You're right." Kanda said, breaking the comfortable silence.

"About what?" Lavi asked curiously. Kanda looked at him, completely serious.

"I should probably fire him."

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FYI STATEMENT

**Name: **Malcolm C. Leverrier

**Description: **Leverrier is a man of average height and a lot less than average looks. Some say he even resembles Hitler.

He is the current acting head of the VAP, and has been for 15 years, although he was not the man who founded it. His name was Charles Anderson and he died under suspicious circumstances. It was never ascertained if it was murder of not, but Leverrier was exempted as he had an alibi. (Though some people believe he had had his eyes set on that job and killed Anderson to get it.)

He has an assistant named Howard Link who worships him as a god. He follows him wherever he goes and does whatever he asks. When Leverrier in unhappy with a company, he sends Link as a warning. If Leverrier himself shows up, the company is most likely to be shut down. This is why he is referred to as a douchebag.

**Warning: **Leverrier has a short temper. It is best not to insult him or degrade him because he will _explode_. If he doesn't explode, that means he is planning the destruction of your life and you will wish you hadn't said one tiny word to him that was upsetting.

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"Good afternoon, Mr. Kanda, Mr. Bookman." Kanda flinched at the word 'mister.' That was what people used to call his father and he hated it when he was addressed as such.

"Why, hello, Mr. Leverrier. Would you like to sit?" Lavi said politely. Leverrier nodded and moved over to the table. Lavi and Kanda had stood up and moved forward when the man had arrived, so they followed Leverrier back to their seats. Kanda felt a slight pressure on his shoulder and realized Lavi was squeezing it. He looked over just as he flashed him an encouraging smile.

He felt a bit better after that.

"So, what brings you to _First Illusion?"_ Kanda let Lavi do the talking, since he was still nervous and angry at the same time, both emotions fighting for dominance. He was afraid if he talked right now, he would either end up yelling or walking out of the room, both of which were not an option.

"Oh, I was just on my way to a meeting when I recognized that I was driving past your building, so I decided to stop in and see how you were coming along on your model. You see, I have a few spare minutes, but I must be going soon. I wouldn't want to be late." Lavi flashed him a smile and nodded enthusiastically. Kanda just watched.

"Of course, of course!" Lavi said happily. "We promise not to keep you long. Actually, our design was completed a few days ago and is now being built at the workshops in _Akuma." _

"Interesting." He said, stroking his moustache. He directed his attention to Kanda. "Why not make it at your company, Kanda? It is closer after all." Kanda was relieved that he had done away with the honorific. But at the same time he was offended with the way Leverrier was speaking to him. The man was sneering like he already knew everything about their project and was just there to insult the flaws and affront them in any way he could. In any case, Kanda was fuming. Lavi seemed to notice this and came to his rescue.

"Well, Mr. Leverrier, we worked out that since we've been doing the designing and configuring here, the model should be built at my place. And I trust my mechanics more, anyways." Kanda shot him a small glare, but the redhead didn't seem to notice. He just chuckled and Leverrier chuckled with him, though it was a lot more menacing than happy.

"Well, it's too bad you don't have a blueprint here because I really would've loved to see it." Leverrier said smoothly. Alarm bells went off in Kanda's head. It looked as if Leverrier was up to something, but he wasn't sure what. "Are you sure you don't have a copy lying around here somewhere?"

"Positive." Lavi said with a smile. It was a perfectly normal smile on the outside, but after spending weeks working with this man, Kanda could tell it was a forced smile. That meant Lavi was wary of Leverrier now as well. That helped Kanda regain some of his lost confidence.

"It's too bad we don't have a copy for you to look at. Then you could see for yourself exactly where we stand. Besides, don't you have a meeting to get to? We wouldn't want to make you late, Mr. _Leverrier." _Kanda said the name with no small amount of distaste. Leverrier narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, I do. Thank you for reminding me." Leverrier stated, mockingly. "I guess I will be on my way then." He stood up from his chair and walked to the door. Just when Kanda thought he was free, Leverrier turned around. "Oh, and Kanda?"

"What?" He asked as civilly as he could through his gritted teeth.

"Your new policy about washing hands and feet is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard." And with that, he departed.

Kanda was completely tense until the quiet sound of the elevator doors closing showed that the bastard was actually gone. His muscles relaxed and he let out a breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding in.

"I would've thought that last remark was funny if he hadn't said it in such a creepy voice. And the way he asked to see a copy of our work? I got chills. I can see why you're scared of him." Lavi said lightly, obviously trying to make Kanda feel better.

It didn't work.

"I am _not _scared of that asshole! Why the hell would you think that?" Technically it was true. He wasn't scared of Leverrier. He was scared of being weak and Leverrier made him feel like a fucking cockroach. Small and defenseless and useless.

Naturally, he was never going to tell Lavi that.

"I don't believe you." Of course he didn't. "You are scared of him. That or you're frightened of the way you feel when he's around." Kanda stiffened. Lavi saw this.

"So that's what it is, huh?"

"Can we not talk about this?" Lavi looked like he didn't want to drop the matter, but upon seeing Kanda's face, he nodded slowly.

"Sure thing. What do you wa-?"

"I think my Vice President and assistant slept together." He blurted. Lavi stared at him. Kanda internally scolded himself. He had been a bit desperate to change the subject and had just spilled the first thing that was on his mind. Which was probably a stupid thing to do; he really had to get some control over himself.

"Wow. Me too." Kanda stopped thinking for a second to see Lavi shaking with laughter. "Oh God, isn't that funny?" He cackled. Kanda blinked.

"Seriously?" Lavi wiped a tear from his eye, still chuckling slightly.

"Oh yeah, I'm dead serious. My Vice President is Tyki Mikk, whom you know. My assistant's name is Lulu Bell. She's the blonde with glasses. I'm almost positive they've slept together. Isn't that just weird?" Kanda looked at him, amazed.

"Yes, it is. It's Tim and Allen I'm talking about; know them?" Lavi nodded, a look of contemplation on his face.

"The white-haired man and the golden-eyed one. I've had my suspicions as well. Every time I've seen them together, they are just that; together. Almost inseparable. And now, out of the blue, they stop associating with each other. It doesn't make sense."

"Exactly. And I know them both well enough to see the looks they give each other… No matter which way I look at it, it seems like the most obvious answer in that they slept together. I'm not sure where the whole Tim being angry part works into this, but I have a few ideas." Lavi grinned at him.

"Tell me when you've figured it out. I love a good office drama." Lavi laughed heartily and Kanda found that the corner of his mouth lifted up slightly, too. He quickly wiped the look off his face before the redhead could see it. He didn't want _anyone, _much less Lavi, to see him smiling.

It would throw off the balance of the whole fucking universe.

"So, about Leverrier-."

"I already told you I don't want to talk about him." Kanda interrupted sharply. The redhead frowned at him.

"I just want to know what's going on between you two, I'm not trying to make you upset."

"You're making it sound like I'm having an affair with him." Kanda shivered at the thought. It was just too horrible to even consider. He wished he hadn't said it. "Which I am most certainly _not _having." Lavi started sniggering as he placed his chin in his palm.

"That's not what I meant by that and you know it." He said after calming down. He leaned towards Kanda and inspected him with his calculating green eye. Kanda stared defiantly back. "Are you going to tell me?" He finally asked.

"No." Lavi leaned back with a sigh.

"I'll find out whether you tell me or not. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm very observant." Kanda scoffed and Lavi stood up with a small smile on his lips. "I have to go now. Tyki has been holding down the fort while I've been gone and I don't want to anger him by taking too long." Lavi said with a chuckle. Then he looked at Kanda. "In answer to your earlier question, I do have my own company to run, it just doesn't take much effort during the Challenge. I'm gonna take some time off; I suggest you do the same." He walked to the door and turned. "Bye Yuu-chan. See ya in a week!" And with a wink, he left.

Kanda stared after him. Then he looked back at his papers. They were out of order so he set to putting them back in their places. He placed the ones he had already read in a pile and the ones he hadn't in a different one. When he was finished, he regarded his handiwork.

"Wait, did he wink at me or was he just blinking?" He asked the empty room. No one answered.

Damn that eye-patch.

Kanda stood up and ran a hand through his long ponytail. A slight crackling noise penetrated the silence. He paused and glanced around the room. It didn't take him long to realize what the noise was. He rolled his eyes.

"Allen, what do the words 'off-limits security office' mean to you?" The crackling noise appeared again.

"_Ummmm… it means Allen is allowed to go anywhere he wants because he knows you love him?" _

"Wrong. Now you better get out of there before I-." He stopped, remembering something important. Remembering how they had just been talking about Allen and Tim not too long ago. "Allen, how long have you been there?"

"_I just got here. I came in when you were asking the vacant room a question. What were you saying; I didn't quite catch the whole thing." _

"None of your concern." He said quickly, straitening his tie to cover up his fast reply.

"_Okay, whatever you say boss man. I'm going to go talk to Debra about the files we received last week. Have you finished reviewing those documents yet?" _Kanda glanced back at the table.

"Almost. I'll be done with them by the end of the day."

"_Great. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then?" _He was about to say yes when he remembered what Lavi said earlier. He contemplated it in his head.

Should he take some time off? He hadn't since he had taken over the company. There was just too much work after his parents died, too many papers and too many people. He _did _deserve a day to himself. Maybe call up his old college friend Daisya and see how he was doing. Or visit his old mentor, Tiedoll…

So it was settled.

"No, you won't. I'm taking the day off."

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**And so ends chapter four…**

**I hope you guys like it!**

**(you know, if you did like it, theres a little button under here that you can press and tell me yourself…. Just saying)**


	5. Chapter 5: All's Not Well

"You idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, so the placement isn't to the Great Kanda Yuu's liking? Too bad."

"Shut up and put it down."

"It _is _down; it's been on the ground the whole time."

"You know that's not what I meant!"

"Isn't it? You should be more specific."

"You should be less annoying. But we both know that's not going to happen."

"You shut your mouth, Bakanda!"

"'Bakanda?' When the hell did you start talking to the Moyashi?"

"I have no clue who that is; I'm just incredibly smart unlike a certain-." A sudden breeze rushed past the two bickering men and a blurry mass went with it. The ball disappeared from under the tattooed man's foot and he fell over as his balance went askew, eyes wide in shock. Kanda glared daggers at the old man currently kicking the soccer ball into the goal. He paid no heed to the idiot gasping on the ground.

"Old fart." He muttered dejectedly as Daisya stood up stiffly beside him, trying to breathe properly.

"Too bad he doesn't move like one, eh Yuu?" He laughed. The old fart in question was jogging over to them as he dribbled the ball between his feet, a victorious smile plastered on his face.

"Tch." He said, not noticing the use of his first name. His attention was focused on their used-to-be professor.

The gray-haired man was well into his sixties but could still beat the shit out of two of them at a simple game of soccer.

How pathetic.

"If you two hadn't been fighting, you might have beaten me this time." He said encouragingly, as if he hadn't already scored every goal possible during their play. He giggled when he remembered that. "Or not."

"Screw you, old man!" Kanda growled, storming off in the opposite direction. Hearing Daisya cracking up behind him just made him angrier. He plopped down on the metal bench on the side of the field and took a swig from his water bottle, ignoring the other two.

"Oh come on, Kanda! I thought you would have gotten over your anger management problems by now." Daisya taunted. Kanda whipped his head around to scowl at the tattooed man.

"What anger management pro-?"

"Leave my poor Yuu-kun alone!" Tiedoll wailed, throwing his arms around Kanda's neck. Daisya roared with laughter. Kanda sent him a 'tell anyone about this and you die' death glare that the other ignored.

"Calm down, Tiedoll. You're squeezing little Yuu-kun over here too hard; he looks terrified."

'Fuck you,' Kanda mouthed. Daisya grinned as Tiedoll reluctantly released his old student.

"Let's head over to that café and get something to eat." Daisya said as he rubbed his stomach affectionately. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved."

"Whatever." Kanda said, setting off in the direction of the café, still pissed at Daisya for setting him up for the fall.

The fall being Tiedoll's… _fondness_.

He shivered.

Daisya and Tiedoll exchanged an amused glance before jogging to catch up.

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"So this guy…"

"Leverrier." Daisya nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, Leverrier. You think he's up to something?" Kanda nodded.

"Yes. He visited my work yesterday without any notice, which is suspicious in itself, seeing as it was _him." _He spat distastefully. Tiedoll raised a finger, interrupting Kanda before he could continue.

"It only sounds to me as if you dislike the guy, not like he's planning anything cynical. You shouldn't just assume things."

"I'm not _assuming _anything." He growled, picking up his spoon. He jammed it into his tea and stirred it up forcefully. "It wasn't just the fact he showed up. There was something else, as well." He stared at a tree on the other side of the street as he brought the cup to his lips. He took a quick sip and continued. "The way he was talking, his tone of voice was almost… I don't know, sinister? He was acting like he knew something we didn't. He even tried to get us to give him our plans for the competition. And besides, it wasn't just me; Lavi thought something was up, too."

"Did you ask him?" Tiedoll inquired with a raised eyebrow. Kanda winced at his disbelieving tone.

Why couldn't one of the people closest to him tell that he wasn't just making things up in his head?

Not that he was admitting he had a heart or anything…

"No, I didn't, actually." He grit out. "But he was-."

"Since when are you good at reading people's emotions Kanda?" Daisya said around a mouthful of bagel. He swallowed loudly. "Especially that Laney character's emotion's?"

"Lavi." Kanda corrected immediately, stirring his tea distractedly in his annoyed state. He glanced up at his suddenly quiet companions and found them both giving him strange looks. "What? His name is Lavi, not Laney. There's a difference."

"'There's a difference?' Who are you and what have you done with Kanda Yuu?" Daisya stated incredulously. Tiedoll smiled.

"It seems to me as if you care about Lavi, hmmm Kanda?" The businessman gaped at them, not knowing what to say.

Did he care about Lavi? He knew he wasn't completely closed off from the redhead, that there was some sort of connection between them that he couldn't shake off.

He wouldn't go so far as to call it _friendship._

But it was there, and an ever-present concept drifting in Kanda's mind. And as much as he didn't like it, he knew it was growing, getting larger and, somehow, warmer.

Oh great. He was starting to _care _for another person.

Fuck. His. Life.

"He's hesitating; that means it's true!" Tiedoll giggled, bringing his thoughts back to the present. He was just in time to be met with the lovely reality of Daisya shaking him roughly by the shoulders.

"Kanda are you in there? Can you hear me? Hello? Helloooooo!"

"Get off, idiot!" He shouted, shoving him forcefully while an image of Lavi grabbing his tie flashed through his mind. He shook it off as fast as he could, a little unsettled.

Now he was getting annoyed by Lavi, although he wasn't even graced with the other's presence. If graced could be used to describe him at all…

This was just getting ridiculous.

"I do _not _care about Lavi, old man. Don't get that idea stuck in that ancient mind of yours." He said, not completely sure if he was lying or not.

"'Ancient?' Is that what you think of me? After all those tutoring lessons and all that dating advice I gave my poor little Yuu-kun?" Kanda blushed furiously as Daisya burst out laughing. He glared daggers at Tiedoll while the teacher looked back at him guiltily. "Oops I wasn't supposed to say that, was I? Oh well!" Kanda scoffed incredulously. Daisya continued to roar loudly, tears beginning to stream down his face.

And to top it all off, the redness in Kanda's cheeks wouldn't go away.

"Really, Tiedoll, really?" He tried to look as menacing as possible, but it was kind of hard with a blush dusting his cheeks and an idiotic Daisya rolling on the ground behind his back. He groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Sorry, Yuu-kun."

"You… don't have to apologize." He slowly grit out, eye twitching as he tried to control his anger.

Kanda didn't want to do anything he would regret, especially to Tiedoll of all people.

"Oh, God, Kanda! How have I never heard of this before?" Daisya guffawed, holding his stomach tightly as if it pained him.

Kanda sat as still as possible, not sure if he wanted to curl up in embarrassment and die, or punch Daisya in the face, and then go curl up and die.

Decisions, decisions.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and deny the obvious color in his cheeks, his phone rang, thankfully saving him from further humiliation. He quickly took it out and answered, jumping out of his seat so he could hear over the obnoxious noise.

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Yuu. We've got a problem."_ Lavi's voice said over the phone, sounding unlike his usual care-free Lavi attitude. Something was up.

"What's wrong?" Kanda inquired, a tad bit concerned.

"_We've had a break-in at Akuma. Do you think you could come over? I need your help with something." _Kanda froze.

A break-in? At Akuma? Who the hell would want to steal something from a fucking car company?

He frowned as he responded. "Yes, of course. I'll be there as soon as I can." He ended the call and glared at the street. A bus roared past. A bird swooped down to peck at a newspaper on the opposite sidewalk. Kanda's scowl deepened. He turned back to the table, noticing the curious stares of Daisya and Tiedoll.

"It seems I have to go." He dropped a twenty on the table. "I'll see you two soon… maybe." He shoved his hands in his pockets and strode away.

"Hold up!" Kanda paused. "You're just going to leave without saying goodbye?" Daisya whined as he threw his arms around Kanda, tackling him to the ground. Kanda's surprise wore off almost immediately. He shoved Daisya's surprisingly heavy body away from his and jumped up.

"Leave me alone." He huffed out, darting away and around the corner. He paused and shouted over his shoulder a quick "Thanks" before disappearing.

Daisya threw himself back down in his chair. He glanced over at Tiedoll. "I think he's gained a few manners since we last saw him." Tiedoll didn't answer. He stared off after Kanda for a minute.

"That Lavi boy is good for him. He's a lot more talkative now…" Tiedoll "But…"

"'But' what? You don't actually believe what he says? It's just paranoia. He needs to relax and stop stressing over work." Daisya said, resting his head in his arms on the table. He glanced at Tiedoll out of the corner of his eye to see him still lost in thought.

"I think there's a little bit of truth in it… in fact this may turn out to be a-"

"Don't you dare say it." Daisya hissed. "It can't be that. It just can't." Tiedoll sat back, a bit surprised at the outburst.

"Daisya, we have to consider all the angles. It's most likely nothing, but… it could be what we've been waiting for. I may even have to call-"

"No!" The tattooed man slammed his hands down on the table and stood up. "We are _not _going to do that."

"And why not?"

"B-Because, I… I just don't want him getting involved in this shit. He has a life that I would prefer for him to keep…" The grey-haired man scoffed.

"What kind of life do you think he has?" Daisya winced and bowed his head. Tiedoll sighed. A clap of thunder sounded in the distance. "Come on; let's go." Daisya nodded. With a sweep of his coat, Tiedoll strode off, his companion following close behind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

As soon as he slammed the door to his car, he knew something was up.

_Akuma _was usually a well-reserved company. At least, from the times he had visited that's what he'd assumed. There weren't many people bustling around. In fact, he hadn't seen anyone, save the receptionist who barely bat an eyelash at him.

It was a bit confusing at first. Not only were there no people present, but he didn't hear a sound as if he were in a place devoid of human life, even though that was impossible. He would never admit this to anyone, but it put him a bit on edge. He wondered how his _number one _competitor was right up beside him if there weren't any goddamn people working.

It was a stupid assumption to make because, of course there were people working, but aa he ascended the elevator, he saw that every one of them was working diligently. He fumed silently, wishing his employees were as good as Lavi's. But with Allen as his VP, _nothing _was going to get done.

White-haired brat.

The memory flashed through Kanda's head as red and blue colored his vision. He turned around, taking in the police cars and uniformed men scattered everywhere. A sharp breeze hit him hard, sending his long ponytail gushing out with the wind. It reminded him of the oncoming storm and he glanced up at the swirling clouds overhead. He unconsciously tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.

He headed towards the front door, paying no heed to the 'Do Not Cross' tape. He lifted it up and ducked underneath. A strong hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him back.

"Excuse me, son. Where do you think you're going?" A loud, commanding voice boomed. Kanda was not daunted.

"Into the building."

"Yeah, well, sorry to cut your dream short, but no one's allowed in here."

"I don't think I count as 'no one' seeing as I'm the owner of this building's partner."

"I didn't know Mr. Bookman had a boyfriend." The officer sneered. Kanda narrowed his eyes at the disrespectful man.

"Partner as in business partner. I'm Kanda Yuu, _sir._" He snarled. The man looked him up and down.

"You don't look like a wealthy business owner to me." Kanda glanced down at his black jeans and dirty white T-shirt. He hadn't had time to change into an actual business suit, so he'd just threw on a pair of jeans before coming here.

"Yeah, well I-" He was saved from giving the man an excuse he didn't have when Lavi appeared beside him. The redhead regarded them both with an amused flicker in his eyes before settling on Kanda.

"Yuu-chan." He purred, wrapping his hand around his wrist. "I'm glad you came; I was getting worried. Let's go inside." He shot a look at the other. "Martin you're excused."

"Y-Yes sir." Martin stuttered and stepped away, not before shooting Kanda a small glare.

"Well, it looks like you two have gotten off to a less than desirable start, huh?" Lavi grinned dragging him away by the wrist. Kanda had no choice but to follow.

"You seem rather… happy for someone who was just robbed." The redhead stopped in his tracks, the dark-haired man almost colliding into him. Kanda shuffled back rubbing his nose, a sharp insult on his tongue. Lavi cut him off before he could say anything.

"That's the thing… we weren't robbed. They didn't actually take anything, they just screwed around with our stuff…"

"What do you mean?" Kanda questioned, gazing intently at Lavi. The other dropped his stare and looked up at the building. Kanda followed his line of sight.

On the fourth row from the top, two of the windows were broken, right next to each other. It wasn't a large hole, but it was noticeable and probably dangerous to get close to, what with the hazardous winds. A stray sheet of paper shot out of the gap, proving Kanda's theory.

"C'mon." Lavi said, meeting his gaze. "There's no use standing out here in the cold. Let's see if you can find anything that my gorgeous eyes missed."

"And the police's eyes?" The redhead's smile seemed to blaze in the dimming light.

"They don't count." With that, he took off toward the front door. Not running, but a sort of half walk, half skip. The long-haired man followed with a roll of his eyes.

Thunder rumbled angrily in the distance. The first drop of water smacked into the pavement. His body began to slow down without him even realizing it. The soft pad of his feet stopped all together as a rush of foreboding overcame him.

Lavi walked ahead, clueless as to what was happening to Kanda while he babbled on about nothing in particular. A strong wave of nausea overcame him and he clutched his stomach with a gasp. He had no choice but to sink to his knees. The long-haired man breathed in deeply as he waited it out, for there was nothing he could do, and wondered what the fuck his body was trying to tell him. The wind picked up even more, whipping his hair back.

"Eh? Yuu! Yuu, what's wrong?" Lavi exclaimed. Kanda looked up just as the redhead dropped down next to him. He gently placed a hand on the other's back, not sure what to do. "You look like crap." Kanda grimaced.

"Thanks for the boat of confidence." His voice came out strangely tight. A glance around showed that he was getting a bit of unwanted attention. He definitely was _not _going to any sort of hospital or goddamn doctor. "I'm fine." He lied. He shakily rose to his feet with Lavi's help under a few interested stares. "Let's just go."

They went.

But Kanda wasn't fine. Far from it, actually.

At the time, he had no clue what was happening. Even later on, he was still stuck in a state of nostalgia, wishing his life hadn't veered so far off the one and only track he had ever known.

It was beautiful in its own twisted way. At least he would have some sort of change, even if it wasn't one he would have ever asked for.

But life is funny like that.

It spirals and turns away from you.

It keeps going no matter what is thrown in its path.

Ever on and on.

Until one day.

It stops.

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Hello, my pretties. Sorry for such a long wait, im not really sure what happened o.O

Yeah, anyway I know this chapter is a bit short and I had more to write, but I just needed to get **something **out to my lovely readers…

I think ive mentioned this before, but since last time the story has taken a COMPLETELY different turn than I thought it would (get it? ahahahaha ^^)

All I wanted to do was write a nice little romantic comedy, but my brains like NO YOU ARE ADDING MORE PLOT AND ACTION TO THIS AND YOU WILL BE FUCKING HAPPY ABOUT IT.

My brain is so mean… until next time! (which will be sometime in the next week, I promise!)


	6. Chapter 6: Same Old Vines Same Old Wines

"Did you see this?" Kanda asked from his place bent over in front of the small, well-concealed cabinet. To the naked eye, it was invisible. But Kanda knew what to look for, seeing as Lavi had showed it to him once. "Come here."

"What is it?" Lavi darted neatly around one of the few officers still taking pictures of the so-called 'crime scene' (though there wasn't much crime to be seen) and bent down next to Kanda. The long-haired man growled when some of the irritating yet enticingly scented red hair fell in front of his own eyes. He huffed in annoyance and gently pushed the other away.

"Look. Do you see this little hole?" Lavi leaned in closer, inspecting the expanse of grey wall with only a thin line as to show there was actually something there. An undistinguishable button led, if pressed, to a hidden keypad that would unlock the secrets held within the compartment.

"Yeah, I see, but what-?" He said but Kanda cut him off and grabbed the hand that was reaching to push the button. He pulled the hand back and pointed out the hole.

"Don't touch. Just watch." Kanda pulled a paper clip out of his pocket and bent it so the wire was elongated. He pushed it into the tiny hole under the observant eye of Lavi. It looked like the redhead wanted to say something so Kanda put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. He moved so that his ear was pressed flat against the wall right above the opening. Lavi stared at him in confusion before hesitantly doing the same, facing the other to see just what he was doing.

Kanda maneuvered the utensil further in biting his lip in concentration. He finally found what he was searching for, a little malleable edge, and went to push it aside but the paperclip slipped. He removed it with a small sigh and put it back in to try again. His eyes locked with Lavi's, the green eye twinkling at him.

'What?' He mouthed, still half concentrating on his task. The redhead's smile widened and he mouthed back, 'You're cute.'

The lock popped and the door swung open.

Kanda coughed, pointedly looking away. He knew there was a faint blush on his face and he cursed his body for making him act like a fucking school girl.

He just couldn't help it, though. No one had called him cute in a very long time. In fact, the only person who had ever said that was his mother, but even she used the term lightly.

Thankfully, the idiot rabbit was a bit preoccupied at the moment, glaring furiously at the now open safe.

Kanda couldn't help but wonder what the hell he did this time.

Lavi shook his head as he reached in and pulled out a pile of papers and some rolled up blue prints. Kanda followed him as he lugged it all over to the desk centered in the room. He laid it out neatly, accidentally knocking an empty coffee cup off the table. He paid it no mind, instead shuffling the papers around the flat surface, his brow furrowed. The long-haired man began to grow impatient and was about to say something just as Lavi stepped back.

"Nothing's missing."

"That's just dandy." Kanda said snarkily. He was fed up with the redhead now, a bit more than usual. "But, obviously, someone opened the goddamn safe. This hole wasn't here before." To enforce his statement, he slammed the safe door closed and pointed at it.

A few officers had been watching the scene play out and they now ventured over to investigate. One of them, Kanda noticed, was the disrespectful officer from before. He eyed him wearily and retracted his hand.

A smirk spread itself across the douche's face as he sauntered up to Kanda. He had dark brown eyes and lighter hair in contrast. He was actually quite attractive, but it was cancelled out by the air around him that just screamed 'I'm an annoying prick and I hate all of you.'

It really pissed him off.

"Hello there, _Kanda~" _He elongated the name, rolling it around in his mouth as if checking to make sure it was actually his.

What a dickhead.

He whipped out a notepad and pen as the other two inspected the safe. "What exactly is your theory here?" He asked condescendingly. Kanda's anger grew. Lavi seemed to notice this as well because he walked up and placed a hand on his chest.

"Don't do anything you're going to regret." He murmured.

"I seriously doubt I'm going to regret it." The dark-haired man growled, but remained where he was. He was really starting to hate this guy, but he didn't want to do anything to upset Lavi…

Oh _fuck._

He inhaled deeply and gently removed Lavi's hand from his chest. He looked the other in the eye and said calmly, "I'm fine."

"You don't look too fine to me." Kanda whirled on the guy once again. Lavi interrupted him before it spiraled out of control.

"Martin, I will have you reminded that you are my subordinate. His as well." He gestured at Kanda. "And you aren't doing _your _job. If you wish to keep up this immature brat act, then you can turn in your resignation papers by the end of the day. The fact that you are good at your job is the only reason you haven't been fired yet for your disrespectful attitude." Martin lowered his head in acceptance of his boss's words and stalked off. Kanda thought he looked like a dog told off by his master.

"Isn't he a police officer? I didn't know he worked for you." Lavi sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, he's just head of security here. I guess he's always wanted to be a cop. Whenever the police show up in this area, you can bet he'll be there, watching from the sidelines…"

"Bleh. Creepy." Lavi just shrugged.

"Maybe. I think it's nice that he has a dream to follow." He looked over at Martin. "Though it will probably never come true. Now let's get back to the topic on hand; how did you know that hole was there?"

"Well…" Kanda hesitated. He really didn't want to discuss it. Mostly because it was a time in which life had been a bit brighter. And if there was one thing he really didn't enjoy doing, it's dwelling on the past. "It's kind of a long story…"

"We have a lot of time, in case you haven't noticed." The redhead leaned against the wall. Kanda followed suit. They stopped their conversation there and just watched the people around them inspecting the area for evidence. Lavi didn't press for any further answers, which Kanda was grateful for.

He glanced at Lavi out of the corner of his eye. He seemed to be off in his own little world, a frown decorating his features, most likely wondering what the hell the person who 'broke in' here wanted.

A sigh escaped Kanda's lips. Lavi looked over at him expectantly. The dark-haired man found that he really couldn't stare into that green eye, so he dropped his gaze almost immediately.

"Fine. I'll tell you." He decided to glare up at the ceiling while recounting the story. "I was only twelve at the time. I didn't really understand exactly what had happened, but the details are still locked up in my brain for some reason.

I was walking down the halls of _First Illusion, _trying to find my dad's office. The corridors in that place were long and winding to me; I always got lost. It took me a while, but I ended up making it there. When I arrived, I heard strange voices coming from inside. I just thought my dad was in a meeting so I decided to wait for him.

After a few minutes, my curiosity got the better of me, so I peeked around the corner. There were two men dressed in black wearing strange masks on their faces. My father was nowhere in sight.

It was kind of obvious what was going on, seeing as they were bent over in front of the safe. There were a bunch of designs and blueprints in there, just like you have. One of them was using a small tool with a small cylinder attached to the end. A drill. He was trying to take my father's things.

This infuriated me. I wasn't about to let anyone humiliate my family like that. Just as I was about to storm in there, someone grabbed me from behind. I almost screamed. But a hand covered my mouth, silently telling me to keep it shut.

It turned out to be my father. He put a finger to his lips and dragged me away. I wanted to scream at him to turn around and do something about those strangers. I wanted to make sure those scum knew exactly who they were messing with. To show them that nobody screws with a Kanda and gets away with it.

I held my tongue.

Later, he told me that they were just some construction workers or some shit like that. It was obvious he was lying. The slight shake to his hand and the resignation in his voice were both quite apparent to me. I'd known him my whole life; he couldn't slip something like that past me.

I came back after everyone had gone home. I'd told my parents I was sleeping over at a friend's house. In reality, I was typing in the key-code I'd scribbled down on a piece of paper and entering through the back door.

This time, it didn't take long for me to navigate the halls. It seems I'm just better at doing things at night." Kanda chuckled to himself. Lavi, who was cupping his head in his hand, quickly motioned him to continue, intrigued by the story. He rolled his eyes and resumed.

"I found the office, but the door was locked and there were a few 'Do Not Enter' signs posted. It was very unusual. I was able to pick the lock thanks to my grandpa. He'd taught me before he passed away, among other… useful skills." Lavi quirked an eyebrow at that statement, but remained silent.

"The first thing I noticed when I was inside was the draft. It felt like there were a few windows open, but they weren't.

They were smashed in, varying shards of glass scattered around the room. The same as what happened here." He pointed at the broken windows. Lavi nodded and stared out of them for a bit, before giving his attention back to Kanda.

"It really blew my mind that someone would have done this, on one of the highest floors, no less. I ran over to the safe where I had seen those two idiots before and knelt in front of it.

Everything looked fine to me, except for one thing…"

"There was a hole in the safe?" Kanda nodded thoughtfully.

"Exactly. I found I could pick the lock without too much difficulty. Just like now, there was nothing out of place. I'd seen everything that was in that safe before; my father had showed me on multiple occasions since I was going to end up taking over the company soon enough.

I confronted my father about it the next day. I didn't tell him I'd broken into his own company, though. All the security cameras had caught me on tape, but it just so happened that the security guard on duty was one who I'd met many times before and I knew just what he liked… It only took a box of doughnuts to shut him up.

Anyway, I told him I was putting my foot down. That if he didn't tell me what was going on, I was going to find out for myself.

Then my dad did something totally unexpected. I thought he was going to get angry or be disappointed or _something_, but his eyes widened in fear and he just looked at me as if I'd grown a second head… I'll never forget that look…

He grabbed me by the shoulders and sat me down, right then and there. He took my chin in his hand and gazed into my eyes. I could see the worry and fear and desperation barely concealed in their depths. And then he said 'Yuu. Under no circumstances are you to investigate this. Do you hear me? I forbid it. If I find out that you did… I won't hesitate to throw you into the pits of Hell.'"

"Wow. Your dad has your same sense of humor." Lavi joked, trying to lighten the suddenly dark mood.

It didn't help.

"There was something else… Oh yeah. He had this small piece of paper in his hands and he couldn't stop messing with it. In fact, for the next month or so, I saw him reading it over and over again. But only when he thought no one could see him. When he wasn't obsessing over that note, he was all smiles. Ridiculous."

"So you think my company was fake-robbed by a piece of paper?" Lavi once again tried to cut the tension and once again failed miserably.

"No. You just wanted to hear the story. That's how I knew to look for that hole."

"Really… So it's like history repeating itself?" Kanda blinked at him. The redhead had become serious.

"It seems that way." Lavi sighed and removed that stupid green headband he always wore from around his forehead. He ran a hand through his silky red tresses and Kanda found himself wanting to do the same. It just looked so soft. His hand twitched at his side, itching to reach out. Thankfully, Lavi began to speak again before he could do anything.

"If this is the same thing that happened to your father, wouldn't there be a note as well?" He said, pushing himself off the wall and turning to face the other. Kanda nodded. There was a brief pause.

"I'll check the safe; you look through those papers again." Kanda practically ordered. The redhead didn't even bother responding. He was very excited by this new prospect and basically bounced over to the desk. The long-haired man watched after him for an elongated second before snapping out of it and reopening the safe.

He searched the small space for about a minute. He felt up all of the sides for hidden compartments or a button, but it was futile. There was only so much room to hide a note in there.

"I got nothing." Kanda said, resting his hands on the desk beside Lavi.

"Yeah. Who knows? Maybe that note was just some kind of kinky se-" Kanda punched him in the side before he could finish that sentence.

"Anything. Let's talk about anything but that. Never ever mention that." Lavi nodded, clutching his side in pain.

"Mr. Bookman, Mr. Kanda. We're going to need your statements, please." They turned around to see two cops with similar expressions of boredom on their faces. Lavi peeked at Kanda, smiling resignedly.

"Sure thing."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Night had fallen. It was darker than usual due to the black clouds blotting out the moon and stars, leaving nothing but a thick mass of air hanging over the city. It was cold, too. The wind bit at the heels of those who dared to go out in such weather. It seemed to favor the trees, though. They all let out simultaneous groans with each passing blast.

It was an especially dangerous night. Even the weather had caught onto an underlying menace lurking in the shadows. There was something out there, hiding, waiting.

Kanda shivered. His hands clutched the makeshift railing surrounding the broken windows to prevent idiots from falling out.

"What are you doing?"

Speaking of idiots.

Kanda threw a short look at him over his shoulder, forcing himself to not let his eyes linger on the sight.

Lavi was standing there in his business suit. Well, only half of it. He was wearing his dark pants and shoes, but instead of his sleek black jacket, he was covered in an extremely baggy sweatshirt with _I _ _New York _written across it in large letters. The long sleeves hung limply at his sides. Due to the new lumps on his chest, Kanda assumed his arms were crossed underneath the cloth. He even had a beanie perched atop his head, smoothing down his fiery hair.

"N-nothing." He coughed, quickly turning back to the city-scape before him. Lavi made an indistinguishable noise before coming up beside him. The redhead stared out into the black of night.

"How can you stand out here like this? It's freezing cold, not to mention the fact that we're hundreds of feet off the ground right on the edge of a cliff." Lavi complained. Kanda chuckled.

"It's a building, rabbit."

"I know." Kanda couldn't help but notice when Lavi scooted closer to him. "Why are you out here? I thought you were leaving." The long-haired man frowned at his partner.

"I was. Until-" He stopped. "It's hard to explain. Something just feels… off."

"You too? I thought I was being a paranoid freak." Kanda blinked in surprise.

"I guess you're not as stupid as I thought."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment? 'Cause I'm not feeling it."

"It's the best you're going to get from me."

"I'm hurt, Yuu-chan."

"Don't call me that!"

"It's your name, isn't it?"

"Yes, but-" The wind howled without warning, breaking up their bickering. It blew hard; Kanda's hair and Lavi's sleeves with it. They both backed away from the broken windows, hoping to keep their lives.

"Can we stay here tonight?" He asked, not wanting to go out in that weather, especially with something strange lurking out there.

"Definitely. Everyone's gone, anyway, except for the night guards. And I really don't want to find out what's going on out there…" Lavi shoved his arms through the sleeves and pushed them up to his elbows. "Come on. We can sleep in the lounge." He beamed happily. "Lots of comfy couches and chairs in there!"

"Yeah, sure." He didn't protest when Lavi grabbed his hand and dragged him away, casting one last glance back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Out in the darkness, a lone man stood at his window. A phone pressed to his ear.

"I think that it has started."

"_I know. I don't need you to remind me." _The voice on the other end was angry and sarcastic.

"Calm down. It won't help if you get all riled up."

"_I'm not-!" _A sigh. _"I'm not riled up."_

"Sure, whatever you say." The man grew serious. "We need to figure out what to do. They can't stay here. You know what's going to happen to them if they hang around too long."

"_GODAMNIT ALLEN I FUCKING KNOW." _The white-haired man stared sheepishly at the phone now held an arm's length away from his ear. After that, the yelling stopped and only a stream of agitated grumbles still came out of the receiver. He deemed it safe enough to put back against his ear.

"Hehe. Sorry. I know you're stressed out about this. I'm sorry you have to deal with it, but hey. You're not the only one!" He sing-songed the last part.

"_You really are an idiot." _Another sigh. _"But… thanks… So, you got a plan?"_

Allen smirked. "Of course. Who do you think you're talking to?" He turned away from the window and placed a hand on his hip. "Do you know how far along they are on their little design?"

"_I'd say that they're almost finished. Just a few touch ups to go."_

"Exactly. And one of the requirements for the competition is for it to run on sunlight for a week, right?"

"_It's called solar power, and is this actually going somewhere?"_

"Yes." Allen pouted, refusing to speak.

"_ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME."_ He had to pull away from the phone again. His eyes closed in annoyance.

"Yes yes yes, my dear, just calm down." He huffed into the phone. He quickly continued, talking over the 'my dear' complaints coming from the other end. "It's really quite simple." He opened his eyes.

"We send them on a road trip."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

**Eh, been a while. Or maybe not a loooooong wwhile, but still a while.**

**I know I said I was going to update sooner, but life came and bit me in the ass… aorry about that XP**

**I'm going to have to stop making promises I cant keep. BUT KNOW THAT IM NOT GIVING UP ON THIS STORY. I'll always end up updating even if its been three months (ugh I hope that doesn't happen again)**

**So yeah… this is kind of the legitimate beginning of the story, where the plotline actually starts! EXCITING, HMMM? And if you notice any mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me in a:**

**rrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeevv vvvvvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiieee eeeeeeeewwwwwwwwww**


	7. Chapter 7:The Methods of Vice Presidents

On Tuesday morning, at exactly 5:01 am, Allen Mana Walker, named for his father, deceased, knocked on the locked doors of Akuma. He knew the building was closed. He cupped his hands around his eyes and peered in.

There wasn't a soul in sight. Which was to be expected at 5:01 am. He sighed, breath making a warm, foggy cloud on the otherwise cold glass.

A movement caught his eye. It was a security guard, looking all big and buff. He crossed his arms a few feet away from the door and made a 'go away' gesture with his head. He also made sure that the gun attached to his hip was plainly visible. Probably a little antsy after that whole break-in thing.

Allen rolled his eyes. He sighed again. Then he grabbed the end of his scarf, unfurling it and at the same time slipping his hat off of his head.

Immediate recognition flashed in the guard's eyes and he hurriedly unhooked the ring of keys from his belt loop. Allen waited patiently as the door was opened.

"Mr. Walker! My deepest apologies; I didn't recognize you at first."

"It's fine, it's fine." He said, waving him off. The guard nodded.

"Thank you, sir. But I'm going to need to know why you're here."

"I've been looking for my boss." He self-consciously placed his hat back on his head. "Called his house, but he didn't pick up. So I assumed he was here…" Allen let the sentence hang in the air. The guard shifted on his feet a bit, nervously. Allen's eyes narrowed. "Is he here?"

"Well… yes. But I don't think he wants to see you yet!" The white-haired man raised a brow. Something was being hidden from him.

"Eh, he can suck it up. I have something important I need to tell him and I know deep down he wants to see my beautiful face." The guard looked like he wanted to protest, but Allen slid right past him towards the elevator. He turned to face the uniformed man and smiled. "I'll show myself up?" The doors closed.

Once out of sight, Allen sank against the back wall to the compartment. He pressed the button of the floor he wished to ascend to and dug into his pocket for his phone. He quickly whipped it out and checked for any new messages. Specifically any from Tim.

Nothing.

With a small groan he pressed the cool surface of the phone to his forehead. A tear began to well up in his eye, but he refused to shed it. Not over this.

"Tim… where did you go?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The first thing he noticed was that it was warm. A little too warm, actually. On the verge of being uncomfortable.

But for some strange reason, he liked it. He didn't want to move.

No, wait, he couldn't move.

"What in the name of…" He trailed off when he realized what was weighing him down. Or rather, who.

He stared for a second at the redhead with an arm curled around his waist, head resting on his stomach, a light snore drifting from his lips. One stray lock of hair was scratching at his belly where his shirt had ridden up a bit during the night. The unconscious Lavi turned and pressed his face closer.

Okay, he wasn't going to lie. The first thing he did was double then triple check that they weren't both naked.

Then came the anger. Oh, god, was he mad. What in the hell would give Lavi the balls to put Kanda on this fucking couch in his fucking building and… and…

WHY THE HELL WAS HE STROKING LAVI'S FACE.

He made a high-pitched noise and pulled his hand away, practically flailing. The redhead mumbled grouchily, slowly sitting up and rubbing his eye. He glared past his fingers at the long-haired man who was currently hyperventilating.

"Jeese, Yuu. It's too-" Yawn. "-early for this." Kanda gaped at him.

Did he not notice the incredibly awkward position they were in?

His eyebrow twitched.

"Lavi…" The redhead looked at him lazily. _The nerve! _Kanda grabbed him by the face, palm covering his nose and mouth. "Get. Off. Me." He said, squeezing. Lavi whined pitifully.

"Yuu-chan! That hurts!" He cried, clawing at the hand. Kanda laughed manically.

"You know what they say: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.'"

"But it hurts!"

"So what? If you weren't such an idiot then maybe I wouldn't do things like this."

"I'm not an idiot, Yuu-chan!" Squeeze. "Ow!"

"Stop calling me that!"

"Do you two ever quit?" Their heads snapped around to see an aggravated Allen pinching the bridge of his nose in the doorway. "It'd be nice if you could make my life just a little bit easier for once. I don't like babysitting." Kanda smirked.

"You're in a bad mood."

"And Lavi is sitting on your chest." He deadpanned, just wanting to get to the point.

Kanda looked up and saw that Lavi was indeed sitting on his chest. And their faces were pretty damn close together.

So, like the proud manly man he was, he blushed.

And then shoved the redhead off him with a very loud and very creative curse.

Allen started to realize that 'getting to the point' would have been a lot easier if he hadn't mentioned that.

"Will you both just shut up!" Kanda glanced up in surprise at Allen, loosening his grip around Lavi's throat, who gulped in a breath while pouting. Kanda sat back and crossed his arms as Allen continued. "I'm so sick of you two! Why the hell did you guys have to be _partners? _You never even _liked _each other at all, you're goddamn competitorsfor Christ's sake! And I have to be here for all of your shit. I- I just…" In place of words, he just let out an aggravated sigh.

"Are you done?" Kanda asked. Lavi just curled up against the side of the couch, watching silently. Allen slumped forward with a small frown.

"Yeah." He breathed out dejectedly.

"So why are you here?" Allen glared at him.

"I'm here because you don't know how to answer your phone. But you know what?" He forced a smile at both of them, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "It's good because you're both here. What I have to tell you concerns Lavi as well."

"It does?" Lavi piped up. Kanda turned to look at him and found that he was now perched on the back of the couch, clutching one of the pillows to his chest.

"That's not a good place to be sitting. You could fall."

"No I can't!"

"Yes you can."

"Okay, yeah, but I won't!"

"Don't sound so sure of yourself."

"What is that supposed to mean- Hey!" Lavi protested as Kanda gave him a light push. He released the pillow, eyes wide and reached out for Kanda, hovering a bit, before gravity took its hold pulling him to the floor. Kanda lightly gripped the edge of the couch, glancing over at the redhead. Lavi glared up at him.

"What the hell was that for?"

"Just proving a point."

Lavi flipped him off.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP FLIRTING WITH EACH OTHER LONG ENOUGH TO HEAR WHAT I HAVE TO SAY?"

"We're not f-flirting!" Kanda sputtered, a slight blush once again dusting his cheeks. _God damn it Schoolgirl Kanda, control yourself!_ Lavi climbed back up on the couch and settled down beside him, still fuming. He refused to even look at Kanda, and as flustered as he was, the dark haired man found this incredibly hilarious. He almost smiled.

Almost.

"Okay. I hope both of you have decided to act like adults, because I am five seconds away from storming out of here." It was silent. "Good. So as you know, your new blueprint was sent in to the shop not too long ago. Well," He clapped his hands together. "I'm here to tell you that the model is finished!" They looked at him in shock.

"Already?"

"How is that possible?"

"Yeah, what he said."

"You can't come up with your own line, really?"

"Yes I can! But what you said summed up my thoughts perfectly."

"I…"

"You're just a stupid rabbit."

"…am going to…"

"Yuu-chan, so mean!"

"…kill you both…"

Kanda felt the murderous aura emanating from Allen and immediately slapped a hand over Lavi's mouth. That green eye glared at him, but he just shook his head.

It was never a good thing when Allen got like this, though thankfully it only happened once or twice a year.

And only under certain circumstances…

"Hey Allen?" Kanda decided not to pry. He had a feeling it had something to do with Tim, but he didn't want to prod Allen in the wrong direction. Who knew what kind of destruction he could cause… "What were you trying to tell us?"

Allen was shaking with rage, but with a few deep breaths through his nose, he visibly relaxed. His fists became hands again and his teeth stopped grinding loud enough to make a noise. He began massaging the bridge of his nose.

Although, it still looked like he would self-destruct.

"Yes yes yes… Well, since you've decided to be _cooperative_," Lavi flinched at the tone. Kanda just patted his leg reassuringly. "What I came to tell you was that, since the model is complete, it needs to be tested to see if it can live up to the expectations of that asshole, Leverrier."

"Is this going somewhere?" Allen sent him a look that shut him up.

"The car needs to be able to run on one full tank of sunlight for a whole week, remember? And we need to make sure that it does." They nodded, still not completely sure what was going on. "Well, we thought it best if you two were the ones to do it. And before you start arguing," Allen held up a hand, because they were about to do just that. "Just think for a second. It would be nice to get a break, right? I know you have questions, but if you start screaming again… God help me…"

"Um… Allen, there are flaws in that logic." Lavi blanched when the gaze of death was turned upon him. "I mean… we can't just up and leave… hehe, right?"

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with the rabbit here-"

"Rabbit, really?"

"-because we are the heads of our companies. We can't just abandon our _jobs._" Allen sighed dramatically, finally deciding to sit down in the chair across from them. Kanda narrowed his eyes at the white haired man.

He was plotting something. Not good.

Not good at all.

"Okay, so I was going to keep this from you, but I should've known you wouldn't agree to my plan, so I guess I'll have to tell you." He sighed even deeper this time. Kanda groaned internally; Allen was definitely up to something. "You see… there was a gas leak… at the _Black Order._ No one's allowed inside for at least a few days."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kanda groaned, laying his head in his hands. "What idiot made a _gas leak._"

"No one 'made it,' Yuu-chan, these things just happen."

"I don't remember asking for your opinion."

"Okay!" Allen said a bit too loudly, obviously trying to break up the fight before it began. "So now you see why I'm trying to get you out."

"You could have worded that differently." Kanda mumbled to himself. Lavi shifted beside him.

"Why do I have to be involved? There's no gas leak in my building. Besides, can't we just get someone else to test it out? It isn't really our job to do it in the first place." Allen directed his gaze onto him, hesitating a little before replying.

"We thought it would be best-"

"And who is this 'we' you keep mentioning?" Kanda looked at Lavi in surprise. The redhead was getting really into this. He actually looked suspicious of Allen. Kanda smirked.

He had taught him well.

"I'm talking about Tyki and I. We've been in touch lately… and… what are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?" It was true; Kanda was staring at Allen, a bit of shock touching the edge of his eyebrows while Lavi just gaped.

"Tyki?" They both chimed, immediately sending each other glares afterwards.

"Yeah, we both have the same job, you know. And since you two are working together, it would only make sense if we worked together. But that's not the point." Allen growled.

Kanda could tell he was really pissed off at all the changes in topic. He usually didn't care about stuff like that; in fact, it was usually the white haired man himself who initiated all the diversions.

But it wasn't only that. Kanda had a strong feeling that Tim had left the apartment him and Allen shared. If this was true… well, he didn't know what to do.

If he knew one thing, it was that Allen wouldn't be okay without Tim, whatever kind of relationship they were in.

They must have has sex.

"The point is you are going on this road trip whether you like it or not. Comprende?"

"So we don't actually get a choice in the matter?"

"Of course not!" Allen exclaimed. "I was trying to get you idiots to agree on it by yourselves, but you're too thick-headed to take a hint! I mean, come on! Who in their right min-"

"Allen, this isn't what I was implying when I said 'convince them.'" A new voice entered the conversation, a rather silky voice. A voice that Kanda couldn't trust. "I doubt screaming their ears off and venting about your little problem will help anyone. More specifically us."

Allen hunched forward, obviously angry but choosing to seethe silently to himself. "Tyki." He acknowledged the newcomer with a nod. Tyki smirked.

"Why hello there, Allen Walker. I see you've at least been trying to convince them."

"Hey, leave me alone!"

"Yes yes, sure." Tyki waved dismissively. He winked at Kanda and gave a small wave to Lavi. Lavi waved back with a grin.

Kanda was too busy imagining ways to make Tyki scream in agony to respond.

"Okay boys, here's the deal." Tyki reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Het it up and inhaled before continuing. "You are getting in that car you designed and following a map we marked out. You will stop everywhere it tells you to. You will not stop if it doesn't say so. You will not come back before the week is up. And you will not stay in contact with anyone here. Got it?"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No. Nope. Not happening."

"Oh really?"

"Yes really. You can't force Lavi and I out of our own companies just for the hell of it. There's nothing you can hope to accomplish."

"Well, I don't know about you, but I feel as if I am about to accomplish something. Just give it a few seconds." So they gave it a few seconds. And Lavi realized what the man was about to accomplish, although a bit too late.

The alarm rang through the air before he could get a word in edgewise.

Kanda was the only one who jumped.

"That would be the fire alarm." Tyki said, dropping his cigarette on the ground before crushing it beneath his foot. "I suggest we evacuate, hmm?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once outside, they found the building to be surrounded by just as many flashing lights and sirens as the previous night. The four of them just stood there, staring up at the skyscraper. Lavi made a few noises of protest when heavily bundled firemen charged through the front doors, but otherwise remained silent.

Two nights.

In a row.

Kanda had the urge to face palm.

"Well, isn't that strange." Tyki sighed, though he didn't sound like he thought it was strange at all. "It might take a while to settle this mess, especially because of the break in the other day. I'd say it will be about… a week?" Kanda and Lavi both whipped around to face him, Kanda looking angry enough for the both of them.

"You sly bastard." He growled. Lavi placed a restraining hand on his arm.

"Okay, Tyki, you win." The Portuguese man bowed slightly to him.

"I'm glad you accept your defeat."

"What?" Kanda barked, glancing back and forth between them.

"I understand that there must be a good reason for this. I know you wouldn't do anything along these lines unless that was so." The smile suddenly dropped off his face. "If I find that it wasn't so, you'll see that mercy isn't a word in my dictionary." Tyki's face paled considerably. Even Kanda felt slightly terrified by this unusual statement coming from Lavi's mouth.

"Ah, yes- well, the car is just around the corner." Tyki stuttered a bit before his composure returned. "You can leave now. Don't worry; everything you need is in the trunk. Including your precious Mugen." He directed that at Kanda, who was definitely surprised that they (he still wasn't completely sure who 'they' was) had thought that much about packing.

He caught Lavi's gaze. They stared at each other for a minute.

"I got shot gun!" Lavi cried as he jumped to action, sprinting toward the parking lot.

"Oh no you don't!" He tried to follow, but was pulled back by the collar of his shirt. He glared at the offender.

"You can't drive without keys." Allen said, pushing the object into his hand. Kanda looked down at them, nodding with a smirk. He reached up and lightly tapped Allen's forehead with his pointer finger.

"See you in a week, Sprout." And with that, he raced after Lavi, who was already around the corner, shouting ridiculous things for no apparent reason.

"What immature brats." The white haired man groaned, wondering how on earth those were some of the most powerful players in the game of business. No matter how hard he tried, the pieces of the puzzle wouldn't fit.

"Have you noticed it only happens when they're together?" Tyki questioned softly, rubbing his forehead. Mindless of his growing headache, a smile tried to pull up his mouth as he watched them bicker like an old married couple. "Those two, at least, have each other."

"Yeah." Allen hummed, a small pang hitting his chest that he tried his best to ignore. "At least they have each other."

**Sorry about the wait, it seems that my teachers have decided that now is the best time to dump a shitload of homework on me DX**

**I'm sorry this chapter might not have lived up to your expectations, but I just wanted to get something out… Next one will be sooner and better ^-^ I promise!1**

**So, yeah REVIEW.**


	8. Chapter 8: Bumps in the Road

**I'm back and yes I changed the title of the story. I've actually decided that if you can guess what BAWB stands for, then I'll write you a one-shot of any characters from anything, as long as I know who they are, that is (actually, it really doesn't matter to me). I'll also take whoever gets closest to it. I'll give you a hint; B=Business. (this is a lame excuse to get my ass kicked into gear on writing fanfiction) What? Who said that? Anyway:**

**Summer is almost here, and then I will definitely jump on this story. Except im leaving the country for three weeks, but im going to try to write a chapter and get my sister to post it for me :D. It's just I go to an art school and it gets pretty hectic, I have a lot of pieces I need to do , but I sprained my thumb and now I have exams… bleghhhhhhhh (ps sorry for sucky passage of time in the story)**

**More after the chapter.**

The map sucked.

There was no other way to describe it. It was as if the arrows and random scribbles on the page had minds of their own, veering off into who the hell knows where.

Kanda Yuu was not a fan of maps to begin with. The tiny, indiscernible lines could go screw themselves for all he cared. But a map with _multiple pen colors _and _miniscule handwriting _on it made him want to commit mass murder or something just as horrible that other people would have to deal with.

He had to make everyone on planet earth and beyond knew just how sucky this map was.

Even Lavi who is, contrary to popular belief, one of the smartest people alive, (not that he would tell the egotistical prick that) couldn't get anything solid from it. So, basically, they were stuck cruising down the highway, for the time being.

Goddammit Allen.

It was starting to look as if they would have to move off the beaten path. They could only hope Allen wouldn't find out, though the kid probably had bigger things on his mind.

Now, Kanda really didn't care, like, not one eensy weensy tiny winy bit, but he did sort of... understand what the white haired brat was going through. He himself was pretty young for being in the business. Just like Kanda, it was his father-figure - in Allen's case, Cross Marion - that jumpstarted him forward, way out in front of the other competition. And it wasn't just his relation to the crazy drunk that had helped him; it was the secrets that were held within that egotisical head of his.

Saying that everyone wanted to know those secrets was definitely not an over-exaggeration. There was no way that a man like Cross Marion could be so successful when his number one asset was his ability to chug a bottle of Scotch in under a minute.

There had to be something else up his sleeve.

And it wasn't just Allen's position that had him thinking. He still couldn't believe the idiot had sent him and Lavi on some stupid road trip to test a fucking _car?_ He had better things to do than chauffer the annoying redhead around, work things.

"What's your favorite color?" Kanda blinked in surprise and shot Lavi a look. He opened his mouth to reply, then realized the words that were about to spill from his lips probably weren't the kindest. He tried again.

"Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't."

"Then why are you asking?"

"Because I want to know." Lavi crossed his arms and pouted. Kanda could practically see the floppy ears deflating. He sighed.

"It's blue." Lavi perked up with a grin.

"What kind of blue?"

"Dark blue."

"Kind of like your hair?"

"My hair is black, dumbass."

"Yes, but in the sunlight it shines a beautiful blue. Dark blue, like you said." Kanda scoffed and kept his eyes nailed to the road. He wouldn't show how much that statement affected him, because it did affect him.

He wished he could actually be as cold-hearted as he made himself out to be.

"Don't be stupid."

"I'm not stupid and you are the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"W-What?" Kanda spluttered, his face heating up. His wide eyes landed on Lavi who was cackling quietly behind his hand, trying his hardest to contain his mirth. Angry flames spewed from Kanda's eyes, his only fueling the redness of his cheeks. He chanced a second of distracted driving to land a firm punch on Lavi's shoulder. The redhead cried out in pain, which quite satisfied Kanda's bruised ego.

"Ow ow ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. But, come on, Yuu," Lavi smiled widely. "You are the prettie- Ow! Okay, I'll stop, I promise." Kanda leaned back into his seat again and they settled into a more or less comfortable silence.

Of course, Lavi had to break it a few minutes later.

"Do you like chocolate?" Kanda's eye twitched when he realized he was stuck in this car with Lavi and his game of 20 Questions for the next couple hours of his life. As much as it pissed him off, he'd just have to get over himself and deal with it.

"No. I hate sweets."

"What? But have you even-?"

"Nope."

"Oh stop it, if you'd just try-."

"I told you I don't like them, Sam I am."

"Really? Dr. Seuss? You know, in the end of the story that guy actually liked-."

"Hate them."

"Fine!" Exasperation heavily colored his tone and the dark-haired man sighed in relief. Maybe he would get some peace and quiet.

It was too much to ask for.

"What are you most scared of?" Kanda rolled his eyes with his reply.

"Why on earth would I tell _you_ what frightens me the most?"

"I'll tell you what I'm scared of." Lavi hesitated before adding, "I just want to get to know you better and now seems as good a time as any. We do happen to be stuck with each other for a while." Kanda stole a quick glance from him and saw that he was completely serious.

"…Okay, just don't go and get sappy on me." Lavi bounced up in his seat excitedly.

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Kanda stared contemplatively at the road laid out before him.

"What scares me the most, huh?" He seriously gave it some actual thought and then gave it some more thought just to spite the redhead. "Well, I don't like flying or spiders. And I definitely would hate flying spiders. Oh, and if a banana gets anywhere near me, I go _crazy._" Kanda said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't even get me started on rainbows." He couldn't help the smirk that was slipping across his face, causing Lavi to give him a disappointed frown. The redhead leaned over and rested his pointer finger against Kanda's neck.

"You know, if I pushed this pressure point with enough force, you'd be out cold in a second." He said in a soft, menacing tone. Kanda snorted angrily.

"Yeah, and you'd be in a car with a passed out driver. We'd crash, we would be dead, and I'd make sure the afterlife would be living hell for you." He retorted. Lavi burst out laughing – a really loud, really boisterous laugh at that – and crumpled forward against the dashboard.

Kanda didn't see what was so funny. If anything, he was just mad that the idiot had the nerve to suggest something so ridiculous while driving down the highway.

"Just what are you laughing at?" Lavi's forehead was leaning against the dash and now he turned to look at Kanda through one knowledgeable green eye.

"I'm laughing at Yuu, what else?"

"I feel like that was a pun on my name…"

"I feel like you're right." Lavi giggled, leaning back and slapping a hand on his forehead. After the laughter stopped, Lavi flashed a genuine smile. Kanda didn't know what to do with that, so he turned back to the road.

"What?"

"Nothing." It became quiet. Kanda could feel the redhead's eye boring into his cheek. All of a sudden there was a sense of urgency in the air.

"La-"

"Kan-"

They both halted with short intakes of breath and glanced at each other nervously. Lavi began to speak again with a silent agreement between the two of them.

"It's just that… You see, the thing is…" He scratched the back of his neck with an irritable sigh. "I know the words I want to say, but they don't seem to want to come out in the correct order. Let me start over." He closed his eye. "It's a mutual thing that we didn't want to go on this trip, yes?"

Kanda scoffed affirmatively.

"Well, since we've been in the car together… I've kind of been thinking that this is actually… fun." Kanda really wished he could laugh in Lavi's face at that statement, but that was along the lines of what he had been thinking, as well.

But he probably would have said it in a very offensive manor.

"I guess that the Sprout and Mikk were… right in giving us this… whatever this is." It literally pained him to say that, but he couldn't help the small sense of pride that burst inside him when he managed to say it normally.

"Okay then! It's settled!" Lavi clapped his hands together, sealing their fate. "Let's enjoy this with no complaints!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"This sucks." The redhead whined with a passion that only an idiot could muster. It had been an hour since his 'no complaints' proclamation, and he had already refuted it multiple times. "I want to go home."

"Let's call the Sprout and be done with it."

"No!" Also, for some unknown reason, Lavi was adamant on sticking to the rules. He just didn't seem to realize that going home would be breaking the number one rule.

"I'm going to call him. I'm tired of playing this game with those two. It's getting on my nerves."

"Don't do that! Besides, everything gets on your nerves."

"If by 'everything' you mean you, then yeah, it does." He reached into his pocket while saying this, but found it was empty. It was weird because he usually always put his cellphone into his right front pocket. He took his other hand off the wheel and checked his left pocket.

Nothing.

It definitely wasn't in his back pocket. He's sure if something were pressing into his ass, he would've noticed. Which could only mean one thing…

Allen was smarter than he gave him credit for.

"Fuck." He said. Lavi glanced at him.

"Watch your mouth."

"Oh, like you're one to talk."

"I'm going to overlook that." Lavi stuck his tongue out at Kanda. "Anyway, what's wrong?"

"Those bastards took my phone." Lavi looked like he was about to laugh, but stopped and checked his own pockets as if on an afterthought.

"Well fuck." He exclaimed.

"My thoughts exactly."

"Okay, well let's just pull over somewhere then. We've been on the road for far too long and look," Lavi pointed out the window at the changing sky. "The sun is about to set. We're going to have to find a place to sleep anyway."

"Great. I really hate driving now."

"Do you want me to take over?"

Kanda scoffed before saying, "I'm fine keeping my head. There are enough idiots with driver's licenses out there, we don't need another one on the road."

"Who said I had a license?" This question made Kanda choke on air. Lavi was grinning yet frowning at the same time; Kanda wasn't sure how he managed it.

"It's not like I don't know how to drive. I'm pretty great at it, in fact."

"Well then why don't you have a license?" It was obvious when Lavi began to shrink in on himself that it was one of those _it's a long story _things.

So he asked, "Is it a long story?"

"No, not really," He was now leaning against the window, a step back from when he kept scooting closer to Kanda. He seemed a bit… lost. In thought, that is. "It's really not that long. Just a bit of a bad experience, you know?"

Kanda nodded.

"I just… let's just say I got into an accident, and came out of it with a revoked license and an eye-patch." Kanda's brows shot up. He never thought that Lavi would blatantly say why that thing was on his right eye. Especially to him.

Although he did feel like something was changing between the two of them.

"Oh." Was all Kanda could say to that.

"Yeah." Lavi answered. Kanda wanted to say more, but then again he didn't want to sound like a complete ass.

"Can I see?" Even though he didn't specify what he wanted to see, Lavi slapped his hand over his face.

"No." It came out as an angry hiss, unusual for Lavi, but the redhead seemed to realized this and looked ashamed of himself. Kanda wondered how so many emotions could fly across someone's face in such a short time. "Sorry, it's just kind of a sore spot. Didn't mean to snap at you." And that's how the conversation ceased until they pulled over at a rest stop.

Kanda stepped out of the car, crossed his arms, and said, "You drive."

Of course, Lavi was unprepared for that, because he didn't believe Kanda's ego would let him hand over the wheel.

Even Kanda couldn't believe it.

"Are you su-?"

"Just get in."

"Have it your way."

Because Lavi is better at making decisions than Kanda is, they pulled up to a hotel not thirty minutes later. Kanda would argue that he was better at deciding things, but the fact was that he was _incredibly_ picky about basically everything.

Kanda would try to deny it, but the displeased scoff he directed at the hotel Lavi had picked told a different story.

"You need to get some manners and stop acting like a snot-nosed brat."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just joking." Kanda glared. "Okay, I'm not joking. But you seriously need to leave your pride in the car so you don't scare any kids."

"You're not funny."

"I thought I was." Lavi snickered as he slammed the car door shut. "You stay here and I'll go get a room."

"Two rooms." Kanda said.

"You are a man of few words, aren't you?" Lavi laughed and shot him a smile before dashing in the front doors like a little boy.

Sometimes the amount of happy in Lavi unnerved Kanda.

He was left to his thoughts, so obviously his thoughts assaulted him. Some were about this stupid trip, others about how he was going to strangle Allen when he got back, but most were about Lavi. Not necessarily just good ones - actually, most of them were really annoying – but the fact remained that Lavi was on his mind, and that in and of itself was troubling.

Kanda didn't like where this whole thing was going. He knew where it was going – he wasn't that naïve – but he didn't want it. He was perfectly fine on his own, he didn't need anyone else, much less some idiotic rabbit who couldn't tell his foot from his head.

Just thinking about it made him realize that something was definitely happening, and the concreteness of it scared him, so he pushed it all away. He refused to listen to his mind. What the hell did it know anyway? He imagined all of the little bothersome thoughts flying away as if caught in some breeze.

He felt cold.

Then he remembered hearing about the cold front coming in, so it couldn't be his troubling inner turmoil.

Kanda let himself out of the car, walked to the nearest tree and punched it. Then he hit again for good measure. While shaking out his fist, he realized what an idiot he was being about all of this. He felt like some girl with her first crush on a stupid jock or something.

He slammed his fist against the tree once more.

He was panting now, for no apparent reason. Probably the hot, boiling anger coursing through his veins. He didn't know what he was mad about. He did know he wasn't mad at Lavi. He couldn't bring himself to be.

"Yuu! What are you doing?" And Kanda deflated at the sound of that voice. He could hear the sound of the redhead's feet pounding across the pavement, but he didn't look.

Lavi reached him and grabbed his hands. The knuckles were bleeding and Lavi made a strange sound in the back of his throat. "Jeese, Yuu. I leave you alone for five minutes and you start beating up trees. Who even knows what you'll do to those poor walls." He lamented.

"Don't call me by my first name." Kanda muttered half-heartedly.

He didn't know what was wrong with himself. For some reason, his emotions were acting on their own. He wanted to punch some more trees. He wanted to figure this shit out, and having the object of his desires standing right in front of him wasn't helping him.

And more than anything, he wanted a shower.

Lavi brushed his thumb over the tips of Kanda's fingers. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly.

"Can I have my room key?" The question threw Lavi off a bit.

"Uh, yes, of course." Lavi dropped Kanda's hands and dug around in his pocket until he found what he was looking for. He handed over the small device that would unlock their door.

"Thanks." Kanda walked away, but Lavi stopped him before he could actually get anywhere.

"Since when do you thank people, much less me?" Lavi was concerned and it hurt.

"It doesn't matter. Let me go; I want to take a shower."

"Not until I see you smile." Kanda spun around and shoved a finger against Lavi's chest.

"I don't need you telling me what to do, you goddamn idiot." He spat with narrowed eyes. He didn't get the reaction he wanted when Lavi laughed in his face. "Why are you such a fucking dumbass?" He growled.

"I'm just glad you're back to your normal, pessimistic self!" Lavi exclaimed brightly.

Then, the strangest thing happened.

Lavi, smiling, leaned forward and brushed his lips against Kanda's. It was short, no more than a millisecond, barely a breath of air passed between them. But it was enough to freeze both of their bodies to the ground. When Lavi pulled back, his eyes were wide in shock. He looked even more surprised than Kanda, who had stopped breathing.

They started moving at the same time.

"Yuu-."

"Don't."

"But I-."

"It doesn't matter." Kanda quickly went over to the car and pulled his bag out. "Listen, I'll see you tomorrow."

He strode with determination to the hotel, even though he was quaking inside. What he really wanted to do was turn around and scream at Lavi for doing this to him. It was his fault Kanda was feeling this way.

And _that _had not helped one bit. Not one fucking bit.

As he pulled the glass door open and glanced back, he saw Lavi hit the tree.

**Yeah, I'm not giving up on this story. I'm going to try to finish it this summer. I just really have no clue where im going with the plot currently. Once I figure that out, it will be smooth sailing for sure.**

**And on another note, I've realized I have a bunch of half/barely written fics on my laptop, so I will be posting a lot of those because I worked on them whenever I lost inspiration for this (which was a lot DX)**

**So go check it out *shamless self-promotion***

**Oh, and I think im going to revise all of the previous chapters for this fic because I feel like the style has kinda changed, so im gonna fix that.**


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